Whys and what-ifs
by BHP
Summary: Magnum takes a simple, straightforward, corporate espionage case. But is anything ever really simple?
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: All the usual disclaimers apply – I don't own the show or the characters, only the words on this page. As always, I'd love to hear what you think.

This is set in the 2018 reboot, somewhere between episodes 19 and 20 of Season 1.

**Whys and what-ifs  
****by BHP**

Early morning Honolulu was quieter than Magnum had expected. The traffic was reasonable, the drivers polite. He couldn't help but wonder why everything would change so radically in half an hour, when most of the offices started filling up with employees.

But philosophical questions weren't his concern today. Today was about Jason Calvert, and solving whatever problem he had. Magnum shook his head and laughed quietly. Whatever the problem was, he hoped it was worth losing an extra hour's sleep this morning.

He eased the Ferrari into an open parking space and took a moment to simply take in the spectacular view. The ocean stretched out as far as he could see, flanked by golden sand. The sun was warm, the sky clear. The beach was ready to welcome holiday visitors in their numbers. Nuzo would have loved today – a day like today made every day feel like a vacation. Which was one of the reasons that they'd all moved to Hawaii after … well, just after.

Magnum stepped out of the car and turned away from the sea. The office towers across the road were his destination. They towered above him, dazzling layers of glass and steel reflecting the sunshine and the gorgeous vista behind him. The building was an architectural marvel of engineering: two thirty-floor towers angled apart at ninety degrees, both undulating upwards in the wave-like pattern that gave the building its name. The Waves.

He looked to each side of The Waves, trying to get an idea of the neighbourhood and the types of businesses. To the left was another office tower, although this one was shorter and less eye-catching, more a typical square office block. To the right was a massive construction site, looking to be at least thirty-five floors, if not more. The view was mainly scaffolding and orange safety netting, with no walls or windows in place yet.

Other than the nearby buildings, the area seemed clean and well-maintained, the streets clear of litter and loiterers. The overall impression was one of wealth, class and a faint hint of superiority. Promising. It suggested that Jason Calvert not only had the money to pay Magnum's fee, but that payment would also most likely be immediate and trouble-free. That might get Higgins off his back about some of the money he still owed for repairing the Ferrari. And for every other monetary concern she liked to mention on an almost daily basis.

Magnum checked the details of Calvert's office on his phone, then headed to the building on the left. Inside, he scanned the list of companies on the tenants' board and caught the elevator to the twenty-second floor. Stepping out of the elevator into the lobby, Magnum found that the area was shared between two companies, each fronted by a stylish, frosted-glass door. The one to the left bore the name Bean Trade International, while the one on the right carried a single word: MedLog.

Magnum knocked sharply on this door, and it was opened almost immediately by a tall, thin man. His features were sharp and angular, topped by short and spiky black hair. Sharp grey eyes swept over Magnum and the empty lobby behind him, then the man stepped back and waved Magnum inside.

"Mr Magnum?" His voice was quiet and steady.

"Mr Calvert." Magnum shook the offered hand and stepped inside, waiting while Jason Calvert closed the door carefully behind him.

Jason Calvert headed towards a closed door in the far corner of the large and mainly open-plan office floor. As soon as this door closed behind the two men as well, Jason dropped heavily into his chair, showing the first signs of stress Magnum had seen in him. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, the action seeming habitual and the most likely explanation for the spiky state of his hair.

"Thank you for agreeing to come in so early, Mr Magnum."

Magnum nodded an acknowledgement of the statement.

"Just Magnum will be fine."

Calvert nodded and Magnum spoke again.

"Why don't you tell me why you called me? You didn't say much on the phone."

"Maybe I'm just imagining things." Calvert bit his lip. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

"And maybe you're not." Magnum settled into one of the other chairs in the room and waited a moment. "Tell me what's happening."

"I think the company's been the victim of some sort of industrial espionage."

"What makes you think that? Do you have some kind of proof?"

"No proof, that's the issue. And why I need you, I think."

"Okay, then. So, what reason is there to think you've been targeted? Or that something's been taken?" Magnum started to dig for information, watching Calvert closely as the man started to speak.

"We're a logistics company."

"MedLog." Magnum squinted in thought for a moment. "So the Log is for logistics, then?"

"Yeah. Medical Logistics, so MedLog." Calvert laughed ruefully. "Original, isn't it?"

"I've heard worse." Magnum shrugged one shoulder. "So what do you do, exactly? Deliver medical equipment?"

"Yes and no. We do deliver equipment, as well as other medical supplies. But we also provide a software system to our clients. It's a tracking and ordering system that optimises supply ordering, delivery routes, collection and drop-off rates and a few other things."

"And what makes you think there's been some kind of espionage?" Magnum was honestly curious, wondering whether there was even enough money in this sort of service to justify spying of any sort.

"We have a couple of competitors locally, but neither of them was offering the same sort of complete solution that we do." Calvert shook his head. "But now, each of our main competitors is advertising new additions to their existing services."

"Is that unusual?" Magnum decided to play Devil's advocate. "Surely, they work on expanding their services all the time. Don't you?"

"They do. And so do we." Calvert agreed. "But what they're offering are things that we've just finished developing. We're still beta-testing the software ourselves, and we've discovered a few minor bugs that need fixing before we can go to market. And their new software has the exact same bugs."

"Is that odd?"

"You bet it is."

"Tell me how so?"

"Every developer codes things in certain ways. Everyone has a unique coding style, for want of a better way of putting it. Like a signature, almost. And these bugs are characteristic of the coding styles of two of my best programmers."

"Are you sure that they didn't give the code to your competitors?" Magnum expected trouble from that question and he wasn't disappointed.

"Not a chance!" Calvert's voice rose for the first time, vehemence in every syllable. "I'd bet my life on that."

Magnum raised an eyebrow at that, and Calvert took a deep breath. When he spoke again, his whole demeanour was calmer, quieter again.

"They're the ones who told me that there was a problem in the first place."

"Look, you have to admit that they are the most obvious source of any leak. Telling you themselves just makes them look innocent." Magnum kept his tone reasonable.

"No." Calvert slapped a hand on the table in emphasis. A moment later he slumped back in his chair. "Oh, damn it. I don't want it to be true. I really don't. But you're right. And that's why I called you."

"You do know that I'm not a programmer?"

"Yeah. It doesn't matter." Calvert managed a smile. "My friend told me that you're the guy to find the truth for me – no matter what it is. Or how far you have to dig to find it."

"I try." Magnum's answer was quiet.

"That's what I want. The truth." Calvert sighed again. "I don't have to like what you find. And I'm willing to double your usual fee to keep things quiet and speedy."

"Quiet?" Magnum wanted that clarified. He wasn't in the business of breaking the law, or letting criminals go free.

"I don't want my competitors to know I'm digging until we have answers. Until I can get the police involved to arrest whoever's responsible."

"Okay, I get that." Magnum was relieved. "I can do this quietly for you."

"And quickly." Calvert was definite. "I want you to start this morning. I intend to tell everyone that a journalist from one of the tech magazines is coming to do a profile on the company today. Then you can talk to anyone you like, about anything to do with the company, and no-one will wonder why you're here."

Magnum shook his head and sighed quietly. Sometimes, the clients could be too helpful. But clearly, Calvert had already set the scheme in motion, so Magnum found himself agreeing to be back in the office at ten 'o clock to interview the employees. But he had to clarify one more thing, too.

"I'm not a journalist, either, Mr Calvert."

"I know. But you ask questions all the time, so how hard can it be?"

There was just no answer for that.

How hard could it be? Magnum knew the answer to that question, but he had no desire to share the details of the escape from the Korengal with anyone outside his 'ohana.

He could hope that the universe would take pity on him for once, but a nasty premonition suggested that he was soon going to find out just how hard this supposedly-simple case was going to get.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Magnum leaned against the Ferrari and contemplated the job he'd just accepted. Normally, he'd head back to Robin's Nest and get Higgins to do the bulk of the digging in databases. It wasn't that he couldn't do the work himself. He could. Admittedly, he couldn't hack the way she could, and he worked much slower than she did. But he would get there in the end.

No, pretending to be incompetent was a game of sorts. And it had its advantages, too: it kept Higgins from being bored, and it kept him amused. It was too easy to see the dark side of everything now. Much too easy. So, he found ways to make himself smile. Higgins would probably kill him, slowly and painfully, if she ever figured it out. But listening to her rant at him before she killed him would be amusing, too.

But today, he didn't have the time to go all the way back to the estate and irritate Higgins by stealing her laptop. So he'd just have to do the digging himself. All he needed was a working computer, Internet access, and a place where nobody would wonder what he was doing.

He headed down the road to the small convenience store he could see on the corner of the street, stepping through the door to find it well-stocked. A few minutes later he was back at the car, one flash drive in his pocket and a bottle of water half-empty and dangling from his fingers. He ran through his options again, and decided to make the best of what was available now. He could do more digging later, back at the estate. Or he could con Higgins into doing it for him. The grin lingered on his face while he finished the water and dumped the empty bottle in a nearby trash bin.

Ten minutes later, he was waiting for the local branch of the Honolulu public library to open its doors for the day. When it did, he settled himself in front of the computer furthest from the librarian's desk and opened up the Internet browser. After a last, searching, careful, glance at all the other patrons present, he pulled out the sheet of paper Jason Calvert had given him. He tucked the list of employee names under the edge of the keyboard, grateful that the company was still small enough to only have fifteen employees.

He started by going into the machine's Properties menu and disabling all the auto-complete options.

Moments later, Magnum logged into the first of the highly-secure databases that he still had access to, and started running searches on all the names. An hour – and another four databases – later, he had a few ideas on where to start looking for the leak.

Two employees weren't exactly what they appeared to be, raising a major red flag for him. He needed to speak to Jason Calvert again, to find out if he was aware of what Magnum had just discovered.

If Jason was aware of what he'd learned, he needed to know why the man hadn't given him the information himself. And if the man wasn't aware of the true nature of the people he'd employed, then he had a serious problem on his hands. And not just with his competitors.

But before he mentioned any of the information he'd found, he wanted to run checks on the bank accounts and finances of both his potential suspects. And for that, he wanted to use the encrypted laptop that Higgins owned. Which meant doing the rest of those checks tonight.

Magnum copied all the files onto the new flash drive and shoved it into his pocket. Then he went back into the computer's Properties menu and deleted all the cookies and cached files from his searches. Then he scrubbed the temporary files as well, before sitting back and pulling the list of names from under the keyboard. He folded the paper up again and slid it into the back pocket of his jeans.

Then he shut down the machine and left the library.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

A short distance from Pearl Harbour, at least as the crows flew, Rick sat silently in his car. He stared at the large, concrete building in front of him. It was such a depressing place to look at – nothing but square and oblong grey blocks, rows of them, joined at sharp angles. No windows, no doors to the outside, only chain-link fences, spotlights and armed guards. Industrial architecture at its best. Relatively speaking. Then again, prisons weren't built to be happy places. Halawa was no exception. He sighed and pulled himself out of the car.

The usual signing-in process took the standard twenty minutes that he'd become accustomed to over the time he'd been visiting here. There was no point in wishing things would change, so he just accepted the bureaucratic red tape with as much equanimity as he could manage. Although he had to bite his tongue until it almost bled. Some guards were just so slow that it had to be intentional.

Finally, though, he was sitting at the window and waiting for the guard to bring in the person he was visiting. Moments later, Icepick settled into the chair opposite him and picked up the telephone handset.

"Hey, Rick."

"Hey, Icepick." Rick looked him over with a curious gaze, then spoke again. "You look to be in one piece. So what's the emergency?"

"Who said it was an emergency?" Icepick smiled.

"I get a message – from a friend of a friend of a friend, if you get my drift – saying that you need to see me urgently. If that's not an emergency, what is?" Annoyance coloured the words, with an underlying note of worry.

"You just can't get good help these days." Icepick muttered, apology clear in his tone. "I just asked them to be discreet, is all."

"Discreet?" Rick laughed out loud at that. "Your guys aren't really much good at not being noticed."

"I don't care if they get noticed." Icepick said. "I just needed to ask you for a favour. And before you get that look, it's totally above board."

"Really?" Rick's disbelief was tangible. "Legal, you?"

"Honest. Swear on a Bible."

"As if that would keep you in line." Rick's comment was dry.

Icepick smiled at that and nodded. "I need someone to collect some papers from my lawyer and drop them off at a property rental place."

"And your lawyer can't do it for you?" Rick wanted details before he committed himself.

He and Icepick went back so many years that it was easy to forget that the other man rarely did anything legal. And Rick had too much to lose now – an honest life and career, and the prospect of never having a prison door close behind him as one had closed behind Icepick. And all it had taken was Icepick hinting that he could have a better future than he imagined, nudging him onto a different path and into a very different life. Along with eighteen months and eleven days of learning that he had friends he would die for, friends who would die for him – and almost had. He couldn't risk the life he lived now. He'd learned that lesson when he'd used Icepick's name to help Toni with her game night, and he knew that he wasn't prepared to risk it again.

Not to mention, TC would be furious if he did another favour for Icepick without getting details. The last time, ferrying a Federal witness around and being hunted by the people who wanted her dead, had made a strong case for listening to TC when he had doubts about Icepick's requests.

So, details weren't optional any more when dealing with Icepick.

The other man stared at him through the glass for a moment, face blank. Then he nodded once, a tiny smile breaking through. A glimpse of something that looked almost like pride flashed in his eyes as he looked at Rick, then quickly disappeared.

"No. The police tend to keep an eye on my lawyer and investigate everyone he meets." The two men shared a look, and he went on. "The papers are completely legal. They're just long-term rental paperwork – five-year leases – for some properties I'd prefer that the police don't investigate."

"Why not?" This wasn't making Rick any more comfortable with the idea.

"They're apartments where a couple of people live. People who are doing their best to stay out of places like this," he waved a hand at their surroundings, "and who need somewhere to live."

"And who might these people be?" Rick didn't like the sound of this at all. Nothing good was going to come of getting involved in this, whatever it was. He might not have been sure of much in life, but he was sure of this.

"Guys like you, back before you enlisted." Icepick said nothing for a moment, waiting until Rick met his eyes and held his gaze. "They need a chance to finish school, get honest jobs. And they can't do that if they're on the streets, with no food."

"So, you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart?" Rick was amused. "I'd think you were spinning me a line, but …" He sighed. "I'm living proof that you actually do mean it. At least, sometimes."

Icepick suddenly found the counter top in front of him fascinating. Rick stared for a moment, then managed to put two and two together and get four as an answer.

"Tell me if I'm wrong. You started this little project right about the time we took our extended vacation in the Korengal?"

The moment of silence stretched out wire thin, then Icepick raised his head to look straight at Rick. The pain there was real, and unexpected. Rick leaned back slightly, a fond smile creeping onto his face.

"You big softie."

"Don't ever insult me like that again." Menace filled the words, but the look in Icepick's eyes was the exact opposite.

"Noted." Rick agreed, smile broad as he played along for the benefit of anyone listening in. "So, tell me where I can find these papers, and where you need me to drop them off. And who you'd like me to avoid, while I'm doing it."

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

The Waves was a different place when Magnum went back there mid-morning. Thankfully, the library had been close enough to walk there and back, because the number of cars circling the area looking for parking made it clear that he would have had no luck finding a spot if he'd only been arriving now.

He'd done a bit of reading about MedLog in the library's news archives as well. The company seemed to be well-regarded in the industry, and in the three years since it had been registered, there'd been not one word of scandal about the company or any of the people working there. Which made it highly unlikely that blackmail of any sort was behind the code being leaked to the competitors. Blackmail was always unpleasant, but at least it provided a reason for someone to sell out their employer.

From everything he'd read, Jason Calvert was the honest person he seemed to be. Public records showed him as being in the top ten percent of his graduating class, and heavily involved in community activities. He was just wealthy enough to get the occasional mention in the society pages of the local newspapers, which was how Magnum knew that he had recently become engaged to a surgeon who specialised in reconstructive surgery. There appeared to be no dark secrets in her past, either, so it was highly unlikely that she had anything to do with the code theft.

He was glad he'd dressed in black jeans, sneakers and a plain blue button-up shirt this morning. Flip-flops and shorts would not have created a good impression when impersonating a journalist. He grinned at the thought of what Higgins would say about him pretending to be a journalist. He imagined her comments would begin with a question about whether he could read, let alone string words together in complete sentences. He shook his head, and headed into the left-hand building of The Waves.

Moments later, he was back at the MedLog reception area. The young man at the desk nodded at him, indicating with a raised finger that he should wait while he completed his telephone call. His name tag introduced him as Lyle.

"Good morning, Lyle." Magnum turned a smile on him. "I have a meeting with Mr Calvert this morning, to do a profile on the company. For Tech Week magazine."

Lyle tapped a few keys on his computer, nodded and smiled in turn.

"Mr Magnum?" Magnum nodded and Kyle carried on. "Just give me a moment to let Mr Calvert know you're here."

Two minutes later, Jason Calvert was shaking hands with Magnum as if he'd never seen him before. The man was certainly good at hiding his emotions, and for a moment, Magnum wondered if he was behind the theft from his own company. But thinking back to the earlier meeting, he found himself believing that Jason Calvert truly was the victim. It was hard to fake the emotions he'd seen the man show in his office that morning.

Three hours later, Magnum almost wished he'd said no to this job. True, he needed the money – when didn't he? – but if he had to listen to one more person tell him just how wonderful it was to work at MedLog, and how Jason Calvert was the Mother Teresa of medical logistics, he'd have to consider making a collect call to the Taliban. They'd probably like to know that there were more effective forms of torture than everything they'd tried on him.

He'd had his doubts about two people in the company before he'd started his interviews, and now he was more convinced than ever that one of them was behind whatever was going on. Why they were doing it was a more difficult question. Why anyone did anything was nearly always the much harder question to answer. But Calvert hadn't asked for motivations, thankfully. Just the name of the guilty party.

Finishing his last interview, Magnum headed back to Calvert's office to report in before going back to the estate to do more digging into the backgrounds of his two main suspects.

"Mr Calvert." He kept his voice clear enough to be heard by anyone nearby. "Thank you for your time, and the access to all your staff."

Calvert met him at the door, nodding and shaking his hand.

"It was our pleasure, Mr Magnum. Is there anything else you need to know, or anything else we can do for you?"

"No, thanks." Magnum met Calvert's questioning look with a very slight nod. "I just need to do a bit more background work, and then write everything up. I'll let you have a copy of the article to read before we publish. Probably sometime tomorrow afternoon, or maybe the next morning."

"I'll look forward to that." Calvert walked Magnum to the reception area and waited while the detective headed to the elevator.

Magnum waited until the doors closed before sagging back against the wall. He thought about calling Higgins and asking her to dig into the bank records for him. He'd have done it at the library that morning, but for the fact that those computers weren't secure enough. Even his skills wouldn't have been enough to make those machines secure enough. Higgins could probably have done it, and easily, but her hacking skills were light years ahead of his.

But it would be better to ask for that sort of favour in person, because in spite of what she might say, Higgins found it much more difficult to turn him down in person. It was always harder to turn down a request from a friend when they were standing in front of you. And no matter what she might say, they were friends. They'd been through too much together since they'd met, to not be able to call each other friends.

Thinking about his friends always put a smile on his face. So that smile only broadened when he walked out of the building and spotted a familiar figure walking towards him. Blue jeans, white sneakers, and what Magnum privately labelled a trademark Rick shirt – palest green with a small repeating geometric pattern in dark grey. And a mind clearly focused on somewhere or something else.

"Hey, Rick." He folded the other man into a quick one-armed hug.

"Thomas." Rick's grin was easily as carefree and happy as Magnum's smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Got a job with one of the companies. Industrial espionage, if you can believe it."

"I can believe almost anything." Rick shook his head. "But this doesn't really seem like the right neighbourhood for that. Rich, sure, but not rich enough."

"Maybe someone wants more than they have at the moment. Greed's a great motivator." Magnum laughed. "And I already have a couple of suspects."

"Fast work. What gave them away?" Rick tipped his head in a question, the light breeze ruffling his hair.

"What they didn't say when I talked to them." Magnum thought for a moment, then added another comment. "And with one of them, his attitude."

"How so?"

"Like he's just so much better than everyone else." Magnum snorted in disgust. "I'll bet he's never gone out of his way to help anyone, with anything. Even for money."

"Then we all know where he stands." Rick shared Magnum's view on people who refused to help out when needed. "Lower than fish crap on the ocean floor."

That comparison made Magnum laugh harder than he had in days. Rick watched in amusement for a moment before joining in.

"I've got to get going, Thomas." Rick checked his watch and shook his head. "I need to drop these papers off, and then get back to the Club. We've got an engagement party tonight and I still need to check on the final set-up."

"Don't let me keep you, Rick." Magnum headed to the Ferrari, walking backwards as he called to his friend. "Why don't you and TC come by tomorrow afternoon?"

"We'll do that." Rick answered, knowing that TC would agree without a second thought. Without even being asked, or needing to be asked. Some things just were, no explanations needed.

"Usual time?"

"See you then, brother."

Rick entered the building and Magnum walked across to the Ferrari. He was about to swing himself into the seat when he felt a chill sweep over him. Someone was watching him. He couldn't say how he knew, but he was sure. It was a feeling he'd learned the hard way not to ignore. He turned in a circle, looking for something out of place, but saw nothing. The feeling slowly faded, but the impression lingered. Magnum was suddenly sure that this case wasn't going to be nearly as straightforward as it might seem right now.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

What was Jason Calvert playing at? Inviting a reporter into the company and giving him free access to everyone and everything? Any decision like that should have been discussed with him first. His input was vital to the success of the company.

He'd been the first person to be interviewed. As it should be, given how important he was to the company. Although he wasn't sure that Jason really understood just how important he was. Jason seemed to think that being good at what you did was enough to be successful in today's business world. When would he understand that it wasn't just what you did, but how you did it, and how you told the world about it as well, that really ensured success?

Which made him wonder, now that he thought about it. Was that man he'd spoken to really a journalist? Those questions weren't typical of your run-of-the-mill tech journalist.

That thought made him pause. He'd always known that what he was doing was risky. He'd known that people would eventually get suspicious.

He'd always been aware, too, that there would be a time limit on his actions. He'd covered his tracks well, he knew, but a truly determined search would reveal the truth.

But really – now, and here? Unless … the man wasn't a journalist, but some sort of investigator. A private investigator, if he had to guess. This was unexpected. Worrying.

Well, the 'journalist' would be interviewing the rest of the staff for the next couple of hours at least. That would be enough time for him to do some investigating of his own, to find out just what was going on here and make a plan to deal with any issues that might come up. He was good at planning.

But he was also furious. How dare that idiot Jason Calvert think that he was smart enough to stop him? Catch him? The fool didn't even know that the software code had been compromised until those chatty coders had started comparing notes with friends in other companies and spotted enough oddities to get suspicious.

But temper wouldn't help him, now. He needed to think clearly. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly and focused on what he needed to do. He needed to be organised, careful, and well-informed.

This private investigator wasn't going to find anything useful. He was the only one who had any idea that there was something more going on at MedLog than simple logistics services.

Not that it mattered if this man did find something. There were always ways to keep things from coming to light. Everyone had a price.

With that thought in mind, he logged into his laptop and clicked on an innocuous icon on the desktop. The three-stage security encryption took him ninety seconds to complete, and then he had full access to every computer in the company. Including Jason Calvert's supposedly-secure machine. Like he'd always thought, that man was an idiot if he thought he could keep anything hidden from him.

There was a new file hidden in Jason's personal access folder. Details of his suspicions that software code was being stolen and given to competitors. But no idea of who to blame or where to look for evidence. More proof, if he needed it, that Jason was definitely not the brightest bulb on the tree.

A few more taps on the keyboard gave him access to the building's security network. It had only been a few days' work to get that access, when they'd moved into this building, and he'd used his access to great effect over the last three years. That was how he'd learned that everyone had a price; because everyone had a secret or a weakness to hide. And so many people were prepared to pay – and handsomely – to keep those secrets and weaknesses hidden.

He backtracked through the morning's footage until he saw the so-called journalist enter the building for the first time, then went further back until he'd got the details of the car and its plate number. Less than five minutes later, he had the full owner's registration details for the Ferrari. Robin Masters? No way was that guy in Calvert's office the famous author.

He slipped into his audio files and found the file from Calvert's office, starting from when the door closed behind the two men. His rage increased with every second he listened. Who did Calvert think he was, hiring an investigator? He committed the name Thomas Magnum to memory, then slipped out of most of his surveillance databases. He ran the investigator's name through a news search engine and a secure police database. What he found was both enlightening and worrying.

The police report about the 'accident' that had closed the H-3 tunnel for half a day made especially interesting reading. This Thomas Magnum could turn out to be more of a threat than he'd first imagined.

He turned his attention back to the conversation he could hear at the door of Jason's office. The man was leaving. Good riddance. Time to start planning how to kill this investigation.

Slipping back into the building's security network, he checked the cameras for the investigator, following him down the corridor to the elevator. He flipped through the various feeds after the elevator reached the ground floor and found the correct feed just in time to see the man leaving the building, and stopping to talk to someone. The greeting implied a friendship, at the very least. He flipped back to the files he'd accessed on the police database and filled in the details for himself. Orville Wright. The man was a friend – a very close one, if what he read was accurate.

He followed Mr Wright through the building until he knocked on the door of the business two floors down. He knew no-one ever visited that office for long, as they mainly handled paperwork for apartment rentals. He stared at the screen for another moment, then made a decision. He unlocked the bottom desk drawer and carefully pulled out a full syringe. He slipped it into the pocket of his jacket, careful never to touch the needle.

So the investigator was a threat. There were ways to neutralise threats. Some ways less extreme than others. Leverage options existed for almost any situation and person. And if the less extreme options failed? Well, there were other ways to get the job done. Messier, perhaps, but more permanent.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Rick headed into the same building Magnum had just left. Thanks to Icepick's instructions, he headed straight for the eighteenth floor, tapping the envelope of papers gently against the wall of the elevator as it rose smoothly.

His mind wandered for a moment, thinking about what still needed to be confirmed for the party that night. He'd already organised the drinks and a bartender he trusted, the band was one he kept on call for parties just like this one, and the couple had decided to have the food catered. Rick had recommended one of the catering firms that the Club used regularly, and that side of things was under control.

He just needed to follow up on the other entertainment the couple had requested, as well as make sure that the wait staff knew to treat this party as though everyone there was a VIP. No-one actually was, but the man was an up-and-coming lawyer at a very prestigious firm, and unless he did something really dumb to derail a promising career, he would be a VIP in the very near future. And it never hurt to have friends in high places, especially if they had a working knowledge of the law. At the rate Thomas managed to get himself in trouble, he was sure that they'd be needing a lawyer sooner rather than later.

Stepping out of the elevator, he turned right and followed the corridor to a plain wooden door. The plaque on the door listed the owner as LTR Holdings. He checked the name on the envelope and knocked on the door.

Less than five minutes later he was heading back to the elevator, mind already back on last minute items to check before the party. He paid no attention to the man in blue jeans, olive green Henley and grey jacket, who'd just appeared from around the turn in the corridor. Moments later, they stepped into the elevator together.

Rick checked his watch, calculating the drive time to the club and making allowances for afternoon traffic. He glanced up when the other man stepped into his space, crowding him into the corner.

"Hey, buddy, back off. There's plenty of space."

The man stepped closer without a word, raising his right hand to hold out his phone, the screen lit up.

Rick's attention was drawn to the phone for a moment, while he raised his hand to push the man away from him. Then he froze, a sudden flash of fear jolting him at the sting in the side of his neck. He caught a glimpse of the man's left hand holding a syringe. He slapped his hand over the side of his neck, feeling the injection site in panic. Before he could speak or reach for his phone, the world started to go fuzzy around the edges. He felt unsteady, his balance drifting as the floor swayed under his feet. He reached blindly for the wall of the elevator to hold himself up, but his hand slipped across the smooth surface. His vision tunnelled down to a narrow pinprick of light, then everything went black.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**


	2. Chapter 2

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

The best part of the afternoon was past and the sun was starting to move towards the horizon by the time Magnum made it back to the estate. He'd spent the trip home going over the interviews in his head, and felt sure that one of the two people he suspected was the source of the software leak.

The receptionist, Lyle Chang, seemed like your average guy in his early twenties. But the quick background check Magnum had run that morning showed that Lyle had graduated at the top of his class at the University of Hawaii. Nothing odd about that, until you dug a little deeper and found that his degree was in advanced computer sciences, and that his records showed him to be a brilliant programmer. So why was he working as a receptionist, when he could easily find another job doing what he was obviously highly skilled in? To be fair, though, the background check had shown a likely reason for the job. The only problem with the reason was, that it could also be a motive for leaking the code.

The other person that blipped on Magnum's radar was Albert Kunze. He was the head of sales and public relations, and was the man with the attitude that Magnum had mentioned to Rick earlier. He was just so supercilious all the time. Maybe he was just a person who didn't get on well with other people. Maybe he was socially awkward – but then how could he be such a good salesman for the company? Not to mention, he needed to be really good with people, in general, to run public relations for MedLog as well. Something just didn't want to add up.

So, the next thing to do was run a financial check on both men, and see what came to light. But for that, he wanted to use the computer at the estate. Higgins had way more security on her machine, and if he was going to dig in banking records, he'd rather do it as securely as possible.

Pulling in to the driveway at Robin's Nest, he saw immediately that Higgins wasn't home. Not that he needed her there. He'd just use her computer until she got home.

He settled himself at her desk and called up one of the databases she used to track bank transactions. He'd run a quick basic check on both men and saved the files to the machine before he heard her footsteps coming his way. He immediately slowed his typing to a snail's pace and waited for the inevitable comment.

"Stealing my laptop again, Magnum?" The bite in her tone was completely at odds with the picture she presented: white trousers and peach-patterned top, both more suited to the beach than to staring him down.

"It's exactly where you left it, Higgins, so how is that theft?" He smothered the grin on his face as she came to a halt in front of him, arms crossed sternly.

"Did I give you permission to use it?" A hint of amusement flickered in her eyes, quickly squashed.

"No, but it's kind of implied."

"Implied?" She arched an eyebrow.

"It's here. I'm here. It wasn't shut down, so yeah … implied." Magnum smiled then, and Higgins shook her head.

"I don't know how you haven't been arrested yet." The comment was barbed. "Your grasp on the law seems tenuous at best."

"That's a bit harsh, coming from you." Magnum shot her a glance. "Need I mention a certain embassy party?"

Higgins stared at him for a moment, then shook her head.

"No need." The chuckle slipped out before she could stop it. "I believe we can let your 'implied' theft go, this time."

"Well, thank you so much." Magnum went back to looking at the screen and poking at the keys, one letter at a time. He started a mental countdown, betting Higgins wouldn't make it to thirty seconds.

It took twenty, and Magnum could see the effort it cost her not to step in sooner.

"Oh, for heaven's sake. An illiterate chicken could peck out words faster than you." Her tone was exasperated. "How on earth did you ever manage to graduate high school?"

As she spoke, she flapped a hand at him, forcing him to vacate her chair. Slipping into the seat, she got a good look at the database he was using, then at the two names underlined on the list he'd laid next to the keyboard. Fingers flying, she typed the first name in, set the search parameters and hit the Enter key.

Magnum waited until she'd settled in and wandered off to find a bottle of water for each of them.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Waiting for the data to load, Higgins checked the rest of the machine for signs of what he'd been searching for. She found the flash drive, still connected to her machine, and took a quick look at the files he'd loaded onto it. He'd connected it to her computer, after all, so she figured the contents were fair game. If he didn't want her to read them, then he shouldn't have made them available.

She quickly copied them to her computer, in a new folder. Experience had taught her that a backup of any information was a good idea. Computers crashed every day, and flash drives were small and easy to lose.

After skimming through the first few files, and noting where he'd pulled the information from, she shook her head in bemusement. The man clearly had skills that she was unaware of, and that he chose not to advertise. She could only assume that Rick and TC knew what he was capable of, but she was at a loss for the reason why he'd choose to let people think that he was dumb.

She sat back and considered what she'd just learned about Magnum. Hannah's return had taught her so much about who Magnum had been and who he was now. She knew that the man he was today, was someone who no longer trusted easily. Perhaps he had been more trusting, before everything that had happened in Afghanistan. But that was no longer the case, although she still caught glimpses of a man who wanted to trust. She was sure of that.

Yet she thought they'd both managed to move beyond the automatic wariness inherent in both their personalities and chosen careers.

She thought of their conversation on the beach a while back, and wondered why – in spite of what he'd said to her – he was still shutting her out of so much of his life. After his discharge from the hospital, after his ex-fiancé had shot him, and after she'd thought they'd moved into the territory of friendship.

Or perhaps beyond friendship to something closer to, dare she think it, family? After they'd been hijacked on Robin Master's boat, he called her 'ohana. Family by choice.

So why would he still keep things from her?

The man in question strolled around the corner right then, holding out a bottle of water to her. She reached for it automatically, nodding her thanks. She saw his eyes focus on the screen, flick quickly to her face and then back to the information displayed. With one click she closed the screen and moved to download the first set of search results.

She looked up and met his eyes, realising that he knew exactly what she'd seen, and what it meant. She still wasn't sure why he didn't want anyone to know what he was capable of, but his reasons were just that – his. While she might want to know what he was thinking, he had no reason to tell her. And she had no right to demand an answer from him.

Magnum ambled past her and started fiddling with the ornaments on the shelf behind her. When he reached for a large vase, she spoke.

"Really, Magnum, must you act like a child?"

"Where's the fun in acting like an adult all the time?"

"I assume you are aware that the vase is extremely valuable, Magnum."

"Then why do you have a dagger hidden inside it?" Magnum's tone was bland, but his eyes spoke volumes.

"For protection." Her answer was blunt. "Why else?"

"Sure." He nodded, then looked around the room with new attention. "So what else is hidden in here that you haven't told me about?"

The question caught her off-guard, and the sudden flash of insight made her catch her breath.

"Oh. I see." The words were a whisper, but he caught them and leaned in closer.

"What? Have you found something?"

"No. Sorry. The searches are still running." She bit her lip as her mind suddenly connected the dots and revealed the full picture.

He didn't want people to know everything he could do, for the same reason she didn't tell people where she'd hidden weapons in every room in the house. Keeping some things to yourself simply made it easier to protect the people you cared about. It gave you the advantage when things went pear-shaped, because no-one expected you to be able to fight back. The man was a SEAL, after all; a tactical thinker and a strategist. She recognised his thinking for what it was, because she thought in the same way. This was a long game he was playing, letting out snippets of information when he chose to – even to the people he trusted with his life.

She could hardly blame him for doing exactly what she did every day, so this was something she could, and would, ignore until he felt ready to make it public. Whenever that was, and however long it took. He'd shown that he was willing to wait for her to open up to him on her own. She could offer no less. Friends had that kind of patience. At least, the good ones did; and she wanted to be a good friend.

"So, what is it that you see?" Honest curiosity filled the question, and he leaned even closer to get a look at the computer screen.

"It's nothing related to this." She forced herself to meet his eyes, holding them for a moment before looking away. She saw the moment of recognition in his eyes, and knew that he was aware of what she'd just figured out. He'd probably known long before she'd even worked it out herself. Hidden depths, indeed.

"It's just something I was trying to work out earlier."

He nodded and, thankfully, let the topic slide.

A few minutes later, Juliet checked the searches again and found them complete. She pulled copies of the data to her computer and then shifted copies to the flash drive Magnum was using.

She opened the transaction records and skimmed over them, then cast a speculative look at Magnum. He was standing in front of the window across the room, looking for all intents and purposes as though he was watching the sun slip below the horizon. But now that she knew him better, she could see that while he might be looking at the sunset, he was also watching her in the reflection in the glass. The man had more quirks than most of the spies she'd ever worked with, but funnily enough, she also trusted him more than any of them. Possibly because he saw so many details that other people missed, possibly because he was so dratted honourable, but possibly just because he'd offered to be her friend and none of them ever had.

"Mind telling me what we're looking for?" She saw the edge of his mouth lift slightly.

"We?" He turned and the smile was hidden again. "Are you offering to get involved in a case, Higgy?"

"Not so much offering as accepting the inevitable, Magnum. You couldn't find this information on your own on the best day you ever had." They shared a glance that made it clear that they both understood that comment to be a lie. But it was a bit like that old definition of history – a lie agreed upon.

"And of course, you can." He laughed then.

"In my sleep. With one hand tied behind my back." Smug, but accurate. He was good, but she was better. And she wasn't going to let him forget it.

"Okay, okay." He smiled then, open and honest, amused and happy.

"I have this case, for a logistics company in Honolulu. Someone's been leaking their software code to their competitors and the owner of the company, Jason Calvert, asked me to find out who it is."

"And you think it's one of these people? Lyle Chang or Albert Kunze." Higgins read the names off the list. "Why them, specifically?"

"Little things, really. So far, at least." Magnum shrugged one shoulder slightly. "That's why I wanted the financial records."

"Tell me your reasoning so far, then." Juliet's voice was serious now, her attitude the focused one she slipped into when working.

"Lyle Chang is the receptionist. He's young, smart, and according to what I've found out so far, a real genius with computers."

"So, why is he a receptionist?"

"He got caught hacking the servers in the faculty office at the University."

"Changing his grades?" Higgins couldn't stop the grin.

"No. He didn't need to; he had the highest grades in the computer science class. He was trying to help a friend who needed one more percentage point to pass the course."

"So he was cheating?"

"Well, yeah. But the friend had been in hospital for two months after a boating accident. The physical recovery was hard and she was still having vision difficulties, which meant that using a computer was a problem." Magnum sounded conflicted as he crossed the room to stand next to Juliet's desk.

"The University couldn't accommodate his friend?"

"It would have meant repeating the year. I don't think his friend had the money to do that."

"So, he cheated, but for someone else and with a good reason. Is that what you're saying?"

"Kind of. That's what the University said. It was the only reason he wasn't expelled immediately. They let him graduate, but they involved the police as well. He's not allowed to code, programme a computer, or hack anything for three years. And the police are tracking him to make sure he complies."

"And you think he may be leaking the code to make money? Seeing as how he can't work in the field himself?" Higgins tilted her head in thought. "That's possible. When is his ban on computer work ending?"

"In a couple of months." Magnum hitched a hip onto the edge of the desk and sighed. "It makes no sense that he'd risk everything now. But just because it doesn't make sense to me …"

"True." Juliet couldn't resist the barb. "And so many things don't make sense to you."

"Don't hold back, Higgins. Tell me how you really feel." Magnum sniped back without missing a beat.

She ignored the comment and looked back at the financial records in front of her.

"So why do you like him for this?"

"He didn't tell me any of this. I found it myself, which automatically makes me wonder why he's keeping it so quiet. And whether Calvert knows."

"Have you asked him if he knows?" She was the voice of reason.

"Not yet. It's first on my list for tomorrow morning." Magnum tipped his head toward the screen. "Anything else I should know about him?"

"Nothing. His financial records are exactly what you'd expect from someone in his position. Salary comes in, rent and other regular payments go out. No large unexplained amounts, no odd transactions. Although, this is rather odd." Juliet's voice trailed off slightly and she leaned forward to tap another key.

"What's odd?"

"He's making a regular payment here to a therapist. But he has no health issues, according to his records."

"Any information on the therapist?" Magnum sounded hopeful and Juliet actually hated to squash his optimism.

"Yes. It's an occupational therapist. He's paying for a Tammy Wong to see her every week."

"Tammy Wong is the girl he hacked the server for." Magnum's smile was sweetness itself. "He's still helping her. Makes you wonder."

"Wonder?"

"She must be a really good friend." Magnum sounded deep in thought, and Juliet took the opportunity to sneak in a leading question.

"Indeed." Higgins understood his meaning. "Is there anyone you would hack a database for, Thomas?"

"A handful. Literally. 'Ohana." The last word was whisper-soft, and Magnum stiffened sharply when he realised what he'd said. And that she'd heard him. He laughed then and raised his voice. "Assuming I could hack anything."

"Assuming." Higgins agreed.

"You?" Magnum's question was laid back, but his eyes were focused.

"A few possibilities." Juliet met his eyes and mouthed one word almost silently in return, "'Ohana."

"So, back to our friend Lyle. If Calvert knows all this about him, then what?"

"Then I guess he's probably not my guy." Magnum sighed heavily. "Moving on, then. Anything on the other guy?"

"At first glance, no." Higgins tapped a few keys, then sat back and stared at the screen. "Who is he?"

"Albert Kunze. He's the sales manager and PR guy. But according to his background, he also has qualifications in computer science. And as far as I could tell, he's a damn good coder himself."

"And?" Higgins just knew there was more to Magnum's suspicions than that.

"And he's smug and thinks he's better than everyone else around him."

"That's a very adult reason to suspect him."

"You didn't meet him." Magnum grinned quickly. "Trust me, there's something odd there."

"Does Calvert know about his coding skills?" Higgins asked the question while she scanned through Kunze's financials.

"I don't know. That's another question for tomorrow morning."

Higgins nodded, then leaned forward slightly.

"Something's not quite right, here."

"How so?" Sudden interest sparked in Magnum's question.

"It's just … his accounts are too perfect. If you know what I mean."

"Signs of something else?"

"Maybe." Higgins focused completely on the screen, tapping quickly at keys and digging deeper into the transactions on the screen. "Definitely."

"Details, Higgy, details."

"Patience, Magnum." She read a few more lines, then leaned back.

"Albert Kunze has all the usual transactions on his accounts. But he also has a series of transfers that are intended to look like investment accounts, from their account codes."

"And?"

"If you know anything about international banking, then you'd recognise some of the codes as SWIFT codes for offshore bank accounts. In tax havens and a few other places. Places that don't have extradition treaties with the US."

"I'm guessing that there's a lot of money there." Magnum's tone made it clear that he wasn't really guessing.

"That would be correct."

"Any idea where the money came from originally?"

"The recent transactions have been routed through a number of holding companies, but the ultimate source is here. Honolulu. From two private accounts. The older transfers will take much longer to trace."

Magnum stared into space for a moment, and Higgins could almost see him running scenarios in his head. A minute later, he nodded then looked back at her.

"Could you copy all those files to that flash drive for me?"

"Already done."

She handed him the flash drive and he pocketed it quickly.

"Might I ask what you have in mind?"

"Calvert wanted details. Quietly. Before he calls the police in." Magnum sighed. "I feel for him. He's been betrayed by someone he's trusted for years."

Higgins knew how that felt. And she wasn't the only one in the room with personal experience, either. Ian Pryce and Hannah both cast very long shadows.

"I'll give him all of this in the morning, and suggest he call Katsumoto."

Magnum headed for the door, footsteps slow.

"Thanks, Juliet."

"My pleasure, Thomas." Juliet's words fell into empty air.

She stared at the doorway for a moment. Then, she made sure she had copied all the files to the folder on her computer as well. And emailed the whole folder to herself, checking her phone to see that the files were safely there as well. She couldn't have offered an explanation for why she did it, but she felt compelled, driven by some instinct she couldn't quite grasp and pull into the light. The feeling that something bad was brewing.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

It was dark. He forced his eyes wide open, searching for any hint of light. Then he closed his eyes tightly and opened them again. Still nothing.

He was sitting on a chair. At least, he thought it was a chair. Hard back and seat, cold arms. Metal?

Rick caught his breath. He was alone in the dark. Or was he?

"Thomas? TC? Anyone?" His voice cracked.

There was no answer, and no sound of movement anywhere in the space around him. He tried to concentrate on the emptiness around him. He felt that the space was reasonably large, but deserted. But he'd been wrong about empty spaces before.

He tried to reach out to feel for a wall, and realised then that he couldn't move. Why not? What was wrong with him? He remembered then, a man in the elevator, a syringe, a sting on the side of his neck. He had to blame whatever he'd been drugged with in that elevator; that had to be the reason for his inability to focus better. And why he hadn't realised until now that he was tied to the chair he was sitting on. He yanked at his arms in panic, but found them firmly bound to the arms.

His breath panted quicker and he could feel the panic creeping in on him. He couldn't do this again. Not alone. It had been bad enough when he had TC with him, with Nuzo and Thomas near them. He couldn't do this alone. Too many demons hid in the dark for him to fight them on his own.

He twitched in the chair and his foot scuffed across the floor. The sound broke through the panic for a moment and pulled him back from the edge. He scuffed his feet again, concentrating on the sound he was making. It sounded like the floor was concrete. That was good. It suggested a building, somewhere near other buildings, maybe. Maybe he was still in Honolulu.

Another sensation crept in, forcing him to concentrate on himself again. Nausea. He swallowed hard and tried to slow his breathing. The last thing he wanted to do was vomit on himself. Things were bad enough already. He tried to relax and take stock of how he felt. Nausea, check. Stiff muscles, check. Massive headache, check.

He rolled his head slowly to each side. Nothing changed the level of pain in his head, so he chalked the nausea and the headache up to drugs. He remembered the sting of the needle in his neck, and how quickly the drug had acted. From that alone, he had to assume that he'd been unconscious for a number of hours.

In that case, surely someone was looking for him by now. He had to be late for the party at the Club. All he had to do was hold on long enough for his friends to find him.

"Thomas and TC will come." He whispered the words to himself, trying to believe it. "They'll come."

But what if they didn't? What would he do then? Thomas was the one who could get himself out of any situation, in any place. Rick didn't have those skills. He wasn't that strong. Was he? Could he find the strength in himself if he had to? He hoped he didn't have to find out.

He tried not to think about the fact that his friends had no idea where he was, or even that he was in trouble. He remembered how it had felt when Thomas went missing, the panic and fear. He hated the idea that he would be the cause of his friends feeling those emotions again.

Hadn't they all been through enough for more than one lifetime? Why did he have to be the cause of more pain?

He had to believe that they would know that he needed them. Somehow, they would know. It was one of the foundational truths of his world. And right now, he intended to cling to it like a limpet on a rock.

A new sound caught his attention. A faint scrape, somewhere behind him. His hearing was extremely sensitive and he concentrated hard on the whisper of sound. Another scrape, and suddenly Rick was sure that someone was unlocking a door somewhere behind him. He took a deep breath to focus his attention and prepared to learn everything he could about his captor.

He felt a change in the air pressure around him as the door opened. So, not that big a space after all. He used the light coming from behind him to focus on the details revealed in front of him. He was in a storeroom of some sort. A few shelves against the wall in front of him held some maintenance tools, a few paint cans and other odd bits of debris. He rolled his eyes to the left and right, trying not to move, while he added details to the picture he was building up.

There was some sort of skylight high up on the left wall, covered with what looked like paper. That should let some light in, so Rick knew that it must be dark outside. If it was already that dark, he'd been unconscious even longer than he'd thought.

There was a click behind him, and dim, yellow light flooded the room. Rick glanced up and saw one solitary globe hanging on a cable above him.

He looked at his arms and realised that his wrists were tied to the arms of a metal chair. But with rope, not cable ties. That was a point in his favour. With enough time, maybe he could work a hand free.

Footsteps sounded right behind him. He froze in place, anticipating a blow of some sort. But nothing. Then a voice he didn't know.

"What does your friend know about me?"

"Who are you?" Rick ignored the question. He would not give the man the satisfaction of answering anything he was asked.

"That's not your concern." The voice sounded angry. "Answer the question."

"Well, now, you'll have to be a little more specific." Rick was in no mood to co-operate. "I have a lot of friends."

"You were in Honolulu this afternoon."

"That's not unusual." Rick was nonchalant.

"Why?"

"Why was I in Honolulu?" Rick played dumb. "Why not? It's a nice place to visit. Lots of places to go, people to see."

"What people?" Temper was fraying the man's control. Rick almost grinned at that. He was starting to enjoy getting under his captor's skin.

"Like I said before, your questions are really vague. Specifics would be better." Rick went with a business-like tone, just for the hell of it.

He wasn't expecting the sudden, stinging slap on the left side of his head. His ear rang for a moment, then he laughed out loud.

"That's the best you can do?"

"Answer the question. What does your friend know about me?"

Rick said nothing.

"You were in The Waves this afternoon. Don't bother denying it, I have video footage."

"So what?"

"I know which office you visited, I know when you arrived and left. All I want to know is this – what did you tell your friend?"

"And I told you, I have lots of friends."

The man moved then, coming to stand in front of Rick. He had a mask over his face, but the clothes were ones Rick had seen before. The man from the elevator. Rick regretted now that he hadn't paid more attention to the details. All he could remember was short brown hair, an oval face with a sharp nose, and brown eyes. Nothing really distinctive, though. Just an average guy, who wouldn't stand out in a crowd.

He had a gun in his left hand. Rick noted that for when he got away. Left-handed shooters were unusual.

"Your friend is prying into my business." Rick immediately narrowed the list of friends to two: Icepick and Magnum. If this guy was talking in general terms, it could be Icepick who knew something this guy wanted kept quiet. If his captor was talking about a specific event today, then he had to be asking about Thomas.

"I don't know anything about anything. I was just dropping off papers." Rick decided that nothing this guy could do would get anything out of him. He owed Icepick, sure, but he owed Thomas even more. He would never sell either of them out.

He didn't even see the blow coming. One moment, his kidnapper was standing in front of him, the next – the next moment, the guy's gun whipped across the side of his face. He could feel the blood running down his right cheek and the growing ache suggested that he'd soon be sporting a massive bruise and a black eye. This guy was fast.

"Seriously? Is that all you've got?" Rick knew he should stop talking, but sometimes TC was right: he talked too much.

"I want to know what he told you." The man settled back in front of Rick and stared at him, eyes cold and unblinking. "And you will tell me."

"Not in this lifetime." Rick spat the words out.

Even though he was expecting it, the second blow to the side of his head hurt worse than the first one. He could feel his attention slipping away, more blood running down his face, then his neck. He heard the man moving slightly in front of him. A rustle of clothing, another faint sound.

As his vision greyed out completely, a flash of blinding light told him that the man had taken a photograph of him. He hoped the guy was after Icepick, after all. Icepick would handle seeing that photograph of him better than his friends would.

He fought it with everything in him, but the pull of the darkness was just too strong. His last thought was that he really didn't want Thomas and TC receiving a photograph of him, unconscious and bleeding.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**


	3. Chapter 3

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

By the time the first ray of sunlight peeked over the horizon the next morning, Magnum was already running along the beach, driving himself hard over the packed sand. The waves rushed ashore, the sound like white noise – white noise that usually helped to clear his mind. But not this time.

For some reason, he'd slept badly, intangible nightmares tugging at the edges of his sleep and denying him any true rest.

He wasn't sure what was bothering him. None of his nightmares had featured Nuzo, the Korengal or Hannah. Unusual, to say the least. Last night's terrors had been different – no specific memories had taken a starring role, but rather a general sense of unease. The sense of something being wrong, off-kilter. Something serious – and a feeling that the universe was waiting to drop an anvil on his head.

So, he'd been up while it was still dark, taking the surf ski out beyond the breakers in an attempt to find some peace and balance. He could hear almost hear Higgins' comment when she found out about that. She'd made it very clear that being out alone on the ocean in the dark was looking for trouble. He didn't have to look for trouble; trouble already has his address.

Oh, well. He'd just have to make sure she never found out about his nocturnal paddles.

He couldn't help laughing at that idea. He'd made sure that every inch of the estate was within range of a security camera, so the evidence was there if she wanted it. And telling her not to look at the video footage was tantamount to admitting that there was something there to find. Damned if he, and if he didn't.

But the paddle hadn't performed its usual magic this morning, and he'd felt no better by the time he'd come back to shore. So he'd set off along the beach, running as hard as he could, as far and fast as he could manage. When he'd slowed down, he'd turned back towards the estate and jogged slowly back. But nothing had changed. The uneasiness lingered. He shrugged his shoulders and headed inside to shower.

Twenty minutes later, he was standing on the lanai watching the last of the sunrise, when his phone rang. The ring tone announced the caller as TC.

"Hey, TC. How's things?" Magnum's happiness at hearing from one of his friends filtered through his words.

"Hey, Thomas." The words were barely out, and Magnum felt the uneasiness raise its head and prepare to pounce.

"What's wrong?" Magnum didn't question how he knew something was wrong. The certainty was just there.

"Hopefully, nothing." TC sighed, then asked, "Have you seen Rick?"

"Yesterday afternoon. Down at the waterfront in Honolulu." Magnum thought back to the meeting, searching his memory for any indication that Rick had been worried or ill. That anything had been wrong.

"Yeah, he told me he was going there. But have you seen or heard from him since then?" Worry crept into the question.

"No, TC. Why?"

"He was doing a favour for Icepick." TC spat the words out. "I told him not to, but would he listen? You know how nothing with Icepick is ever as simple as it seems."

"I do know." Magnum confirmed. "But what makes you think something happened to Rick?"

"I've been trying to call him since early this morning. He was supposed to be coming round to pick up some of my business cards to keep at the Club. He said people are always looking for good ways to see the island, and he was going to send some of the business my way."

"Sounds like Rick." Magnum loved that about his friends. Always lending a hand.

"Yeah, but he didn't show. And he's not answering his phone."

"Maybe it's flat. Maybe he lost it, or dropped it." Magnum was reaching for reasons now. "Or maybe he's asleep. He told me he had a big party at the Club last night."

"We should be so lucky." TC was sombre. "I've checked the Club and his place. His car's not at either place, and no-one at the Club remembers seeing him last night. I've also called the hospitals, but he's not there either."

"Okay. That sounds bad."

"You think?" Sarcasm was not usually something TC employed, but this time Magnum could understand the need. He also understood why TC hadn't mentioned checking the morgues, either. Some things were just a step too far and hard to take alone.

Magnum checked his watch and considered how long it would take TC to get to Halawa at this hour of the morning.

"TC, do me a favour. Go up to Halawa and have a chat with Icepick. See if he can give you any idea of what Rick was doing for him. If it might make someone go after Rick, to get to Icepick."

"On it." TC sounded relieved to have shared the burden and the worry. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go rope in Higgy and see if we can track Rick's phone." Magnum was already heading back inside to put his coffee mug down. "Call me as soon as you know anything, okay?"

"You got it, brother." TC hung up and Magnum stared at his phone for a moment.

Turning on his heel, he headed straight to the main house. The anvil was heading for him at breakneck speed – he could only hope it didn't destroy him.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

TC made the drive to Halawa in half the time it should have taken from the Island Hoppers office, glad that it was too early for the roads to be busy, or for the police to be on the lookout for speeding motorists. Not that he cared if he got a ticket right now.

The concrete blocks of the prison loomed large in the early morning light, but TC ignored the artistic play of light and shadow as parked and headed into the building. He tapped his foot impatiently throughout the whole process of signing in as a visitor, the sense that time was somehow running out building with every bureaucratic delay.

Finally settling himself at the visitors' counter, his fingers drummed a tattoo on the counter top, tuneless but insistent. He wasn't comfortable here, the surroundings bringing back memories of his father and a time in TC's childhood that he would rather not think about. He wanted to get up and leave, get away from this grey, depressing room and find some peace in the wide-open blue sky. Flying in a storm was preferable to sitting here, sealed in a box and under surveillance every second of the day. Even the Taliban hadn't watched them for every second.

He felt the pressure of being watched in the tension in the back of his neck, and he closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders to try to force the muscles to relax. But if anything, the tension ratcheted up another notch.

A tap on the glass in front of him drew his attention. Icepick was looking at him, puzzlement in his eyes. He indicated that TC should pick up the telephone, waited until the pilot had done so, and spoke.

"TC. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Not today, okay." TC's tone was sharp. "I don't have time to pussyfoot around."

"Why are you here?" Icepick got straight to the heart of things.

"I need to know what Rick was doing for you."

"That's between Rick and myself."

TC wanted to hit something, but restrained himself, letting the fingers of his free hand clench into a tight fist rather than pound on the counter top.

"Not any more." TC almost snarled the words, then took a deep breath.

"Rick's missing."

The blunt statement hit Icepick hard.

"Since when?"

"Sometime yesterday afternoon."

"Are you sure he's missing?" Icepick held up a hand to forestall TC's anger. "Maybe he just went off-grid for a while. You know he's done that before."

"Not this time." TC shook his head. "He tells us if he needs to go dark for a while. Like we tell him."

TC ignored the surprised look Icepick shot him at that statement.

"But aside from that, we had plans this morning. He didn't show. And I know he was doing a favour for you."

Icepick didn't deny it.

"So I need to know, and I need to know now." TC's voice was suddenly quiet and deadly. "What have you got him involved in?"

Icepick actually pulled back a bit at TC's intensity, then smiled gently.

"I'm glad that he has you for a friend."

"You didn't answer my question." TC was unyielding.

"Nothing illegal. I swear it." Icepick leaned forward, voice quiet and intense. "He was delivering some rental paperwork for me. Above board, every last page of it."

"If that's not it, who might want to get to you by using him?"

TC asked the question because he knew he had to. Icepick knew it too, and didn't protest the implications.

"I've no idea." Icepick shook his head. "Anyone who knows anything about my businesses, knows that Rick isn't involved in any of them. And they know that threatening anyone I care about, will get them nothing but pain."

"And what about someone who doesn't know you well?"

Icepick actually flinched slightly at that. That reaction worried TC. If Icepick was telling the truth, then whoever had taken Rick didn't know that it would do them no good. And he really didn't want to think of what could be happening to Rick right now if that was the case.

Icepick leaned forward and lowered his voice to barely above a murmur.

"I will get the word out, starting now. I want to know any information on the streets, from any source."

"You're going to share everything with me." The statement left no room for disagreement. TC wasn't even surprised when Icepick nodded. But the other man's next words lingered long after he'd left Halawa. Along with the cold and calculating look in Icepick's eyes.

"If anyone has hurt him, they will answer to me."

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Under other circumstances, Magnum would have gone looking for Higgins before simply barging into her office and booting up her computer himself. But an inexplicable urgency was driving him, telling him that there was no time to waste this morning.

He bounced out of the chair and moved restlessly around the room while he waited for the computer to come online. He needed to be moving, to be doing something to find Rick. With anyone else, he'd have told them that the missing person was an adult and had the right to do as they pleased, when they pleased.

But this was Rick. Rick would never willingly be out of touch, would never willingly make TC and Magnum worry. Not after what they'd all survived together, and the promises they'd made to each other. Which only left one possible reason for his silence – someone was making sure he stayed silent. He could only hope the silence wasn't permanent.

He swung around to head back to the computer, only to find Higgins staring him down from the steps into the office. She looked at the computer, then crossed her arms, and let fly.

"Did we not just have this discussion, last night, about you stealing my computer?"

"Not now, Higgins." Magnum snapped the words out.

He tried to keep his face blank, but whatever bled through the façade obviously affected Higgins deeply. She stepped closer and laid a hand on his arm.

"What's happened, Thomas?" The concern was his undoing.

"Rick's missing." The bald statement sounded even worse out loud than it had in his head.

"How do you know?"

"TC called this morning."

Higgins didn't ask anything more, and Magnum had never been so grateful that she understood the relationship he shared with his friends. Simple, and incredibly complicated at the same time.

But Juliet somehow understood that relationship and immediately took action, dropping into her chair and bringing up her cell phone tracking programme with a few keystrokes. Moments later, she shook her head.

"I'm still pinging his number, but it looks as though his phone is off. Or it's broken, or …"

"Whoever took him has disposed of it already." Magnum ground the words out, his throat tight against the fear.

This was how it had started with Nuzo. And he just couldn't lose another friend like this. It was a truly horrible thing to hope for, but he wanted a ransom call. Whether he had what the kidnappers wanted or not, he wanted a call. He needed to know that Rick was alive, that he would have a chance to do for Rick what he hadn't been able to do for Nuzo.

Higgins was still going back through the location history on Rick's phone.

"Magnum, according to this, the last place Rick's phone was active was in Honolulu proper. Right down at the waterfront."

"That's the last place I saw him. Yesterday afternoon, about four."

"His phone went dead about half an hour later."

Magnum shook his head at that news. Rick had been missing over twelve hours and no-one had known. His restlessness the previous night suddenly made a lot more sense, but now he wished he'd done something then. Done what, he didn't know. But something.

Any trail was probably ice cold by now. But maybe there was one more person he could ask.

He pulled his phone out and thumbed through his contacts, pausing for a moment before putting the call through.

Moments later, Katsumoto's voice carried clearly from Magnum's phone.

"Magnum. Whatever you want, the answer is no."

"Good morning to you to, Katsumoto." Magnum tried to rein in his impatience.

"It was, until you called." Under the words, there was a note of humour. Magnum saw the grin on Juliet's face and had to grin back at her. Then he put his mind back on business.

"Rick's missing."

A moment's silence answered the statement, then Katsumoto spoke, all humour gone.

"Are you sure? And since when?"

"Yes. And yesterday afternoon, around four."

"Okay, I need more details than that." Magnum could hear Katsumoto flipping papers and he knew the detective was making notes.

"I saw Rick yesterday afternoon, outside The Waves. He was heading inside to drop off an envelope of papers. I didn't ask for more details. Now, I wish I had."

"Don't focus on that right now, Magnum. Focus on what we do know." Katsumoto was all business now. "And you know he's missing, because …"

"TC said so."

"Okay." Katsumoto didn't question that, just as Higgins hadn't. At times like this, Magnum was grateful that he had friends who could focus on the important things without getting bogged down in the minor details.

"You know it's too soon for an official missing persons report." Katsumoto offered quietly.

"Yeah, I know." Magnum agreed. "But that doesn't change anything. We all know the truth."

"True." Katsumoto waited a moment, then asked, "So, what were you looking for from me?"

"Can you check traffic cameras for me? Maybe we can see when his car left, get some idea of where he went."

"I can do that. Give me half an hour." Katsumoto hung up without another word.

Higgins busied herself at her laptop for the next fifteen minutes, while Magnum stalked restlessly around the room. Then she leaned back and sighed.

"I've pinged his phone again – no luck. But I've also checked all his bank accounts, his credit card, anything else I can think of. And hospitals and the morgue."

"And?" The trace of hope was hard to hide, even when he knew better.

"Nothing. It's like he just dropped off the planet after you saw him."

Ten minutes later, Magnum's phone rang, Katsumoto's name bold on the screen.

"What did you find?" Magnum figured the police detective would forgive his rudeness.

"Nothing." Katsumoto sounded frustrated now as well. "He never went back to his car at all. I tracked through all the footage until his car was towed last night."

"Towed?" Magnum was stunned.

"Yeah, that road's a tow-away zone after eight at night."

"Where's his car now?"

"Police impound." Katsumoto actually managed a laugh. "So at least you know the car is okay. I checked with the officer at impound, and there were no signs of a struggle in, or on, the car. Whatever happened, it didn't happen there. At least, not on the street. After we find Rick, I'll see about getting the car released. And getting the towing and impound fee waived."

"Thanks, Katsumoto."

Magnum appreciated the optimism in the other man's voice and words. If only it was as easy for him to believe that everything would turn out fine. Then he shook his head at his own doubts. Rick would believe the best until there was no other option. Rick always did. Even when there seemed to be no hope at all. How could he do any less?

"Hang in there, Magnum." Katsumoto's concern was sincere. "I'll be in touch as soon as I know anything more."

Magnum ended the call and stared blindly across the room for a moment, before dropping heavily into a chair.

What if the worst had already happened? What if he was already too late?

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Rick woke to dim, yellow light, and the first thought he had was that there was something wrong with the sun today. Then the memories rose up and reminded him that he was a prisoner. His captor had left the light on when he'd left – minutes ago? Hours? Longer?

Rick had no idea how long he'd been unconscious, but he suspected it was a few hours at the very least. His head ached fiercely, throbbing in time to his heartbeat. He could feel that his right eye was swollen. Not to mention that he couldn't fully open his eye, either. He vividly remembered the gun hitting him, twice, so he wasn't that surprised at the result. He could also feel the stickiness on the skin of his face and neck that he assumed was dried blood. All in all, a truly wonderful start to the day. At least he was still alive and breathing.

He forced his eyes as wide open as possible and stared hard at the wall across from him. The shelves wavered for a moment, before settling into a reasonably straight line. Although they did have a tendency to shift into two lines if he let his concentration waver. So, concussion at the very least.

Not that he could do anything about it, so Rick shrugged it off and tried to focus on something else. Like finding a way to free himself from the chair. He'd just started to shift his arms in an attempt to work on the ropes when he heard the same, faint scratching noise he'd heard the last time his captor had appeared. He immediately held himself still, waiting to see what happened next.

A minute later, the man was standing in front of him again. This time, without the mask. Rick was gratified to see just how accurate his memory of the man's face was, after just one quick glance in the elevator.

For a long moment, the man simply stared at him, then pulled Rick's phone out of his back pocket and laid it on the floor. The screen was dead and Rick assumed that it had been powered down.

"I want you to call your friend and tell him to back off."

"Back to this again." Rick wasn't feeling tolerant or pleasant. At the Club, keeping the customers happy meant putting up with a lot of outrageous behaviour. But this wasn't the Club, and he didn't have to put up with this sort of abuse on his own time. His tone was sharp when he answered.

"I told you, I have lots of friends. Try to be a bit more specific."

"You know who I mean." The man took a step towards Rick, and laughed at the instinctive flinch that Rick couldn't quite control.

"It's very simple. Call your friend off, and I won't kill him."

"You'll just kill me instead." Rick knew there was no way he was walking away from this situation, regardless of whether he did what the man wanted or not. Even if he hadn't seen this guy's face, the only way his captor could be sure that the police would never come for him was if every witness was dead.

"Give me what I want, and I'll let you go."

Rick knew that to be a lie.

Then the man's word choice struck home. He kept referring to Rick's friend as someone he could kill. So whatever this was about, it didn't involve Icepick. Granted, it wasn't impossible to kill someone inside Halawa, but it did take more resources than the average person had at their disposal. And Rick had the feeling that the man standing in front of him was really not an outstanding human being. In attitude, personality, temperament, or skills. Ergo, average – just like his face.

Which meant that this idiot in front of him really thought that threatening Rick would get him to betray a friend. Betray Thomas, of all people. That showed that he really hadn't done his research, if he thought that was even possible.

"You know, I'm insulted." Rick figured he was going to die anyway, so why keep quiet? "You're going to kill me. We both know that."

The man stared at him, suddenly speechless. Which gave Rick the opportunity to keep talking.

"What sort of person, what sort of friend, do you think I am? Do you really think I would call any of my friends, just because an idiot like you told me to? Much less tell them to do anything you said, or wanted?"

"Well, it would have made things easier. But in the end, it won't really matter." The man considered Rick for a moment, then pulled another phone from his pocket. He tapped at the screen a few times, then typed what Rick assumed was a short message and sent it.

Rick desperately wanted to know what message the man had sent, but there was no way he was going to show any interest. But the man took a step closer and flipped the phone around for Rick to see the screen.

He tried not to look at the photograph – of himself, almost unconscious, with blood streaming down his face – but instead stared hard at the small screen to get the letters to hold still long enough for him to read them: 'I have your friend. Be waiting in one hour.'

He saw the telephone number at the top of the screen and recognised it immediately. Thomas. Whoever this idiot was, he'd just picked a fight with the most dangerous man he was ever going to meet. Rick wanted to feel sorry for him, truly he did, but his aching head made it hard to give a damn. Well, his aching head – and his impending death.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**


	4. Chapter 4

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

"Higgins, is there …"

Magnum's phone chimed with an incoming message and he assumed that it was something useful from Katsumoto. He held up a finger to Higgins, pausing his thoughts for a moment, while he opened the message. Then he froze, suddenly unable to think. Unable to move. Blind and deaf to the room around him.

He didn't even notice Higgins come to stand next to him, until she got a look at the message open on his phone.

"I'm calling Katsumoto back right now."

That snapped Magnum back into the moment. He held out a hand to stop her.

"No." He shook his head sharply. "Track the message first."

Higgins wanted to argue that the sooner the detective knew about the message, the better.

"Now is not the time to go rogue, Magnum."

"I'm not, Higgins. I swear." Magnum was on his feet now, heading for her desk. "Just try to track the message first, okay. Please?"

That last word, and its tone, was her undoing. She sat down quickly and pulled up the tracking programme again, tapping away at the keys. Magnum stood at the side of the desk, one hand brushing back and forth against his leg while he waited. The triangulation software was fast, but still not quick enough.

"Damn."

"What?" Magnum shook his head, faintly amused that Higgins actually could swear, and did, no matter how mild the word.

"It's a burner phone, and whoever sent that photo has shut it off again. The general direction was Honolulu, but the trace disappeared before I could get anything more specific than that."

Higgins sounded as angry and frustrated as Magnum felt. Her tone drew Magnum's attention and he took a closer look at her. She looked annoyed, but under that, he could sense worry and fear. And now that he was paying attention, he could see that she'd also dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a plain white shirt, just as he had. Dressed to do whatever needed to be done, to get Rick back.

"Okay." Magnum tried to consider everything objectively.

Rick was missing. TC knew Rick was doing a favour for Icepick. Magnum had taken a job in Honolulu, in a building near the waterfront. Rick had visited the same building for Icepick. He met Rick outside The Waves. Rick never returned to his car.

Magnum's mind suddenly made a leap in logic that he would never be able to explain later. But all the pieces just seemed to line up for him.

"It's that guy from MedLog."

"What are you talking about?" Higgins was looking at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"This photo was sent by Albert Kunze. He's the guy who took Rick."

"While I might agree that your theory could be a very convenient way of tying odd clues together, Magnum, you will actually need more hard evidence to make Katsumoto believe you."

Higgins was using that oh-so-reasonable tone that made Magnum want to throw a full-scale tantrum like a toddler, just to put a crack in her self-control. Mainly because he was only hanging on to his own control by a fingertip.

"I don't care what he believes." Magnum shot back. "I know that I'm right."

"And you may be." Higgins agreed. "But it's also a very convenient way of blaming yourself for whatever has happened to Rick."

"Blaming …" Magnum was stunned. Did she really think that was what he was doing? Was he?

"We've had this discussion before, if you recall." Higgins answered calmly. "Not everything bad that happens is your fault."

"This is, though." Magnum knew it, with bone-deep certainty. Nothing she could say was going to change that one fact.

"Well, in that case, I suggest you find the necessary proof."

The flat statement got Magnum's attention. He forced himself to take a deep breath and herd the wave of emotions into a dark corner in his soul. He carefully shut away the anger, the guilt, the pain. They were things he would deal with later, when all this was over. When he had Rick to help him find the light again.

He looked at the photo and message on his phone again, then forwarded the whole thing to Katsumoto, with a quick explanation about the origin of the message.

"Katsumoto has the photograph and the text now." Magnum forced himself to think logically. "You've got all the files about the bank accounts on your computer."

"And copies of the files you already had, from the other databases." Higgins agreed. Magnum shot her a glare at that admission, but she simply shrugged it off.

"So there must be something in all of that to prove that Kunze is the guy who's been leaking the code from MedLog."

"Maybe." Higgins was careful. "But we need to consider that he may not have anything to do with what happened to Rick. Just because he's clearly hiding money, in some very interesting and borderline-illegal ways, doesn't make him a kidnapper."

"Maybe not." It hurt to admit it, but Higgins did have a point. "But, it seems too much like a coincidence to me, that I start asking questions at MedLog and Rick gets grabbed the same day."

"Why make a move yesterday, though? Why not wait to see what happens, if anything?"

"I don't know. Maybe no-one's ever asked questions before. Maybe he's spooked at the thought that someone might find out about all the money he has hidden away. Or maybe he's just decided that it's time to get out and away, and he wants some insurance."

"Okay, I could see any of those scenarios." Higgins agreed and Magnum turned to leave. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Honolulu, back to The Waves." Magnum was thinking more clearly now. "Whatever happened to Rick, happened there. Or very near to there. So I'll get TC to meet me there and we'll go take a look around. See what we can find."

He knew what he wanted, hoped, to find: Rick, alive and well. Or even irrefutable proof of life. He very carefully kept his mind from dwelling on any of the other, less hopeful, possibilities.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Higgins stared at the empty doorway after Magnum had rushed through it, already on the phone, calling TC to meet him in Honolulu.

She'd thrown every objection she could think of at Magnum's theory of what had happened to Rick, but she had to admit that there was a certain twisted logic to it, as well. She was also impressed at the leaps in logic Magnum had made to arrive at his theory. She had a feeling that trying to beat him at chess would be much harder than she'd thought.

But she absolutely hated the fact that his theory was probably correct. Because that would mean that Rick's situation would indeed trace back to Magnum's case. The man didn't need to shoulder any more guilt about all the bad things his friends had survived. Especially if things went badly today, as they had months ago with Nuzo.

With that thought in mind, she quickly dug back into the files she and Magnum had collected the day before and culled out all the ones relating to Albert Kunze. She attached them all to an email, and sent them to herself. Even if Kunze wasn't involved in Rick's kidnapping, he was certainly guilty of something. And it could be useful to have proof on hand if it were required.

Then she called Katsumoto herself.

"Higgins. Anything new since the photo?" Katsumoto sounded honestly worried. Higgins appreciated the sentiment, as she felt the same way herself. Why Katsumoto kept trying to deny the friendships they were all building, she had no idea. Well, maybe she did; it was annoying to suddenly realise that things weren't exactly as you'd thought they were.

Magnum was the sort of person who grew on you with time, in the face of all your objections, until you suddenly realised that you were friends. Rick, on the other hand, was that true and reliable friend you just hadn't met yet. And once you did, he simply slotted into your life as though he'd always been a part of it.

"No." Higgins sighed. "I'm guessing that Magnum told you it was sent from a burner phone that we couldn't track to the source."

"Yes. He didn't mention how he knew that," Katsumoto sounded faintly amused, under his overwhelming concern, "but I suppose you would know."

"I would." Higgins offered no further details.

Katsumoto said nothing, and Higgins smiled at his silent frustration.

"Magnum has just left here, on his way to meet TC in Honolulu."

"Why?" Katsumoto asked. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing. Well, nothing definite." Higgins felt the need to clarify. "Magnum has a hunch that Rick's disappearance is connected to a case he started yesterday."

"One day? That's fast to annoy someone, even for Magnum."

"Quite." Higgins laughed at that. "But he may have a point. One of the employees at the company in question has been moving a lot of money around in international banks. In ways that are, strictly speaking, slightly less than legal."

"And Magnum thinks …"

"That this man may be involved, yes."

Higgins glanced at her watch and calculated the time since Magnum had received the photo. She had forty minutes to get to Honolulu herself and that was going to be cutting it rather fine.

"Detective, I'm leaving the estate now. I will meet you at The Waves in thirty-five minutes." Higgins ended the call, ignoring the questions she knew Katsumoto was going to ask.

She dropped the phone on her desk, next to her car keys. Then she reached into the bookshelf behind her and collected the gun she had concealed there. She checked the magazine, made sure she had the safety on and a round chambered. Then she settled the gun firmly into the back waistband of her jeans, picked up her phone and car keys, and headed out the door.

Experience told her that things were bound to get worse before they got better. Assuming they got better at all.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

The idiot was gone again.

Rick didn't care where the man had gone, only that he'd left the light on again. Most probably because he'd been too angry to think about turning it off when he stormed out.

Honestly, Rick couldn't understand people like his captor. He could feel sorry for them, and pity their lack of decent friendships – but he'd never understand them. The man really thought that Rick would sacrifice a friend to save his own life. And there he was again, back to pitying the idiot for the friends he'd obviously never had.

A few minutes passed and Rick felt sure that the man wouldn't suddenly come back into the room. He started working the ropes around his arms in earnest. The ropes weren't as tight as they should have been and the knots weren't the best, thankfully, giving him enough leeway to slide the bindings back and forth on the arms of the chair. Now if only there was a sharp edge somewhere on one of those arms.

That thought made Rick freeze for a moment. Very carefully and slowly, he slid his fingertips over every millimetre of the chair that he could reach. There! He slid his fingers over the spot again, thrilled to realise that what he'd thought was a flaw in the arm was actually the sharp edge of a small, round hole. He puzzled over that for a moment before the answer came to him. There had once been a rivet or a screw on the underside of the chair arm, but it had fallen out, or been knocked loose.

He couldn't help but laugh at himself. Right now, he shouldn't really care how the hole came to be there, only that it had. But it was a useful distraction from other things he'd rather not think about right now.

Working slowly now, Rick lined the rope around his right arm up next to the hole, then he pulled his arm up as high as he could to make the rope taut. He pulled his arm back towards his body and felt the rope catch on the sharp edge. He repeated the movement a few more times, feeling the rope catch every time. Reassured that he at least had a chance of getting free, Rick closed his eyes and thought of nothing else but working on the rope.

He'd lost track of time completely by the time he felt something give in the rope. He tugged gently and felt something more snap. Taking a deep breath, he yanked his right arm up as hard as he could, rewarded with a sudden sharp upward movement of his arm as the rope finally lost its integrity altogether and split apart.

With one hand now free, Rick set about getting the other rope untied. It was the work of seconds to get off the chair and collect his phone from the floor. He hit the switch to power it up, but couldn't focus well enough on the numbers on the screen to enter the code when prompted. That would have to wait until later, when there was once again one phone in front of him, rather than three, or two, or four. Sighing, he slipped it into his pocket. At least it was switched on, if anyone was trying to track the signal.

He headed for the door he could now see, behind where he'd been seated. It was locked, which was no surprise. He'd never been much good at picking locks, but he'd always been good with the application of brute force to an inanimate object. He just needed a suitable tool to apply the brute force.

He turned on his heel to head for the shelf on the far wall, only to sway dangerously on his feet and almost crash head-first to the floor. He sagged against the wall, holding himself steady with both arms propped against the cold cement. His head pounded, every beat of his heart echoed in his throbbing temples.

"Yay for me. Concussion, and no bad guy to throw up on." Rick swallowed hard and closed his eyes. He rested his forehead on the wall for a moment, relishing the cold on his aching face. A few deep breaths later, he eased his eyes open again and headed for the shelf again, this time staying close to the wall and using it as a support.

The shelf turned out to be full of useless items, and Rick despaired of getting out of the room before his captor returned. He kicked out in frustration at the wall, and heard a sharp, metallic sound. He looked down at the crumpled tarpaulin on the floor and suddenly wondered what was under it. He shifted the material gently with his foot, and there was the answer to his prayers – a chisel.

He lowered himself in a slow squat to grab the implement, too afraid of what might happen if he simply leaned forward or bent down too quickly. Straightening up again, he headed back to the door. It was a moment's work to work the sharp edge of the chisel into the door jamb, right behind the lock. He hoped he'd guessed right about this being a cheap, inferior-grade lock, then rammed his hand hard onto the handle of the chisel.

Nothing happened.

He tried again, every ounce of frustration and anger behind the strength of his blow. This time, something shifted in the door. Another sharp blow and the lock popped open as though made of putty.

He waited to see whether the noise had drawn any attention, but heard nothing. Thirty seconds later, he eased the door open and slipped through it. He let it swing quietly shut behind him.

He was standing in a plain, cement corridor, identical doors studding it at intervals in both directions, until each end of the corridor turned at right angles from where he stood. He contemplated both directions and finally opted to head right, mainly because that turn in the corridor seemed closer than the turn on the left.

When he reached the corner, he smiled. Finally, something was going his way. There in front of him was a short flight of steps, leading to a closed door. He pulled himself slowly up the stairs, using the handrail to stay upright in spite of his head's attempts to tilt him sideways. He laid a hand on the door, fully expecting it to be locked as well, only to have it swing open easily.

Noise and light assaulted him and he had to force himself to step through the door. He was in a delivery alley behind an office block. He looked around, then up, and couldn't hold in the laugh when he saw that the building towering over him was The Waves. He'd never left the building. Well, at least he knew where he was.

He leaned heavily against the wall, still hanging onto the door for balance. He struggled to convince his eyes that there was only one sidewalk in front of him. He squinted hard and the three images finally coalesced into one, mostly-solid-feeling sidewalk. He let go of the door, which slowly swung shut behind him.

Finally feeling more in control of things, Rick turned to his left and walked slowly towards the street he could see at the far end of the alley. Once he got there, he could ask someone to call the guys for him. Or failing that, Higgins or even Katsumoto.

He would just have to hope and pray that the idiot didn't make an appearance now and stop him. He wasn't up to a physical fight.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Magnum and TC piled out of the Ferrari, once again parked in front of The Waves. It was another sunny day in paradise, and the irony wasn't lost on Magnum. He headed to where Rick's car had been parked, TC right behind him, and was just starting to look for any sign of what had happened to Rick there, when his phone rang. The display showed an unknown number. Magnum swallowed hard before answering.

"Hello?"

"As I said, I have your friend."

"What do you want?" Magnum waved a hand at TC, pointing to the phone and miming that it was the kidnapper.

"I want you to go away. I want you to stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"And if I don't?" Magnum saw that TC was on his phone now, probably asking Higgins to track the call.

"You don't really want to know." The voice was calm, eerily matter-of-fact. "But, let me tell you anyway."

"Please do." Magnum muttered angrily.

"First, your friend will die. Then, I will come for your other friends, one by one. They will die. And then, I will come for you. And you will die."

Who did this guy think he was? Magnum rolled his eyes, in spite of the fear he felt for Rick. Clearly, this guy had seen way too many movies with poorly-characterised villains. But that didn't make his threats any less real, or any less dangerous for Rick.

The only positive thing so far was that the kidnapper was still talking about Rick in the present tense. But for Magnum, confirmation of that fact would be better.

"And if I do what you want?"

"Then your friend will live."

"How do I know you haven't already killed him?" Magnum heard TC's gasp at the question and shared a worried look with the taller man.

"He's no good to me dead, now, is he?"

It wasn't really confirmation, or proof of life, but it was better than nothing.

"Where is he?" Magnum was trying to keep the man on the line, watching TC who was motioning to keep things rolling.

"When you do what I tell you, I'll send you his location."

"I don't trust you, Albert." Magnum threw the name in, sure in his gut that he was right in thinking that all of this was tied to the MedLog case.

Silence greeted his comment. He was terrified then that he might have lost his only chance to find Rick alive. What if he'd just sent the guy on the phone over the edge? And Rick paid the price?

"Well, well. You're certainly clever, I'll give you that." The voice sounded less smug, but still very confident. "But it doesn't really matter. I want all the copies of whatever evidence you have on me."

"Okay." Magnum agreed. Right now, he would have agreed to anything Albert suggested. "Then what?"

"You will meet me, alone, in thirty minutes. On the tenth floor of the construction site across the road from The Waves. You will give me the evidence, and I will tell you where to find your friend."

"Fine. Thirty minutes." Magnum had barely got the words out when the line went dead.

He spun around to look at TC, who was listening intently to the person on the other end of his phone call. TC shook his head as he hung up the call.

"Higgins says he wasn't on the line long enough to get a location. Almost, but not quite. She's sure that he's somewhere in this area of Honolulu."

Magnum clenched his fists, looking for something to hit. TC laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.

"It's okay, brother. We'll find this guy."

"I know exactly where he'll be in thirty minutes, TC." Magnum pointed at the construction site across the road. "But that doesn't help us find Rick, now."

The two men stood for a moment, contemplating the construction site. Magnum looked around the area, wondering if Albert Kunze was somewhere nearby. Watching them, maybe. The man had to know that they were in Honolulu, or there was no way he'd have set the meeting for thirty minutes' time.

"TC, he's got to be somewhere nearby." Magnum shot the words out, his mind running ahead of his words. The connections were falling into place, just like they always had on successful missions in the service.

"If he wants to meet in thirty minutes, over there, then he's already here somewhere. And if he's here, then Rick might be here too. Somewhere close enough that we can find him. Maybe. Hopefully."

"Okay." TC agreed. "But where do we start looking?"

Magnum spun around, looking for suitable places, only to be interrupted by his phone. The ring tone gave away the caller.

"Hey, Higgins."

"Magnum. Anything?"

"The kidnapper called. But you knew that from TC. It was Albert Kunze."

Magnum was clear, so that Higgins could be sure of the identity later. If things went badly, TC and Higgins would make sure that Albert Kunze would pay for what he'd done.

"You were right." Higgins' admission carried a note of restrained frustration that Magnum's hunch had been correct.

"What did he ask for?" Noise in the background suggested Higgins was moving, on the road most likely. Magnum would have bet good money – if he'd had any to bet – that she was on her way to The Waves as well. Where Katsumoto was no doubt going to meet her.

"All the evidence."

"Which you're not going to give him."

"I am, actually." Magnum had thought this through already. "I have the flash drive with me. I was going to give it to Calvert, but now I'll give it to Kunze."

Stunned silence met this declaration.

"Magnum, are you sure about this?" Higgins sounded worried. "This isn't like you."

"Yes, Higgins. Very sure." Magnum cut her off. "And yes, again, this is definitely like me."

He knew she wouldn't believe him, but couldn't take the time to explain it to her. So he said the one thing he knew would lead her to the answer he knew she needed.

"This is Rick. I'll do whatever I have to, to save him."

**MPI-MPI-MPI**


	5. Chapter 5

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

TC listened to Magnum's side of the conversation with Higgins, and found himself in complete agreement with Thomas. It didn't matter that this man, Albert, was asking Magnum to give him evidence that proved that Albert had committed crimes. It didn't matter that handing the evidence over might allow the man to escape justice. It didn't even matter that Higgins didn't quite understand Magnum's reasoning or response.

All that mattered was Rick.

After Magnum ended the call, he waited a moment, then spoke quietly.

"I get it, brother. Rick first."

"And always." Magnum nodded, and sighed. "She doesn't get it."

"I think she would, if she let herself." TC smiled. "But it's hard to admit you're just as human as the rest of us."

That surprised a laugh out of Magnum.

"You're good for me, TC."

"I aim to please." TC tipped his head in acknowledgement. "Now, what does this Albert character want? Do we have to fetch the evidence?"

"No, TC." Magnum pulled the flash drive from his pocket and held it up. "Everything I have is on here."

"That's okay, then." TC checked his watch, and tilted his head towards the construction site. "You'd better get moving. Where are you meeting him?"

"Tenth floor." Magnum headed back to the Ferrari.

He pulled his gun from under the seat, checked the magazine, chambered a round and slipped the safety on. He slid it into the back of his jeans and pulled his shirt out to cover the grip.

TC watched as Magnum pulled out his phone and silenced all the alerts so that nothing could distract him while he was otherwise occupied, then turned to walk across to the construction site.

Magnum stopped after a few steps, turning back to face TC. He stared for a long moment, before nodding once. Then he spoke.

"When you speak to Higgins, tell her to give Katsumoto her copies of the evidence. The ones she has on her phone."

"She has copies on her phone?" TC questioned.

"Yeah." Magnum laughed. "She thinks I don't know she has them there. But just because I'm going to give Albert what I have, doesn't mean he shouldn't pay."

His smile was cold now, matching TC's equally cold gaze.

"You can tell her yourself, you know."

"Maybe." Magnum shrugged one shoulder. "But just in case I can't, TC, promise me you'll tell her."

TC flinched. This didn't sound good.

"You're coming back, Thomas. With Rick."

"That's the plan, TC." Magnum agreed. "But you know how much I like a good back-up plan."

TC could hear the acceptance in Magnum's voice. He would come back if he could, but if he had to choose between himself and Rick, TC knew that Magnum would choose Rick. Every time. It was who he was. TC nodded once, and saw Magnum smile then; a small, quiet, satisfied smile. Then Magnum turned and walked away again.

"Stay safe, brother." The quiet rumble of words followed Magnum, and TC heard a faint response float back.

"Always. You too, brother."

TC turned away, then, and looked at The Waves. If there were any signs of something happening to Rick here, he was going to find them. Somewhere inside, or just around that building. He walked slowly towards the corner, checking the sidewalk for any signs, anything even marginally suspicious. He was so intent on his task that he almost jumped in shock when his phone rang. When he saw the caller was Higgins, he answered it immediately.

"Higgins, what have you got?"

"I can't get hold of Magnum."

"He's put his phone on silent while he's meeting Albert."

"Okay." Higgins sounded relieved that he was okay, but then irked when she spoke again. "He went alone?"

"Albert set the terms." TC didn't sound happy either. Higgins obviously decided to let that slide for the moment, her tone changing to one of barely suppressed excitement. "I set up an automatic ping on Rick's phone earlier, when Magnum asked me to find it."

"Yeah, and there was nothing."

"Yes, then. But now I just got a response."

"Where?" TC shot the word out.

"I don't have my laptop with me, and the software on my phone isn't detailed enough to give me a specific street, but ..."

"But?"

"The signal is also in Honolulu, right near the waterfront. If I ping your phone, and Magnum's, the three dots just about overlap, so all three of you are very near each other."

No wonder she sounded more excited than TC had ever heard her before. He was just barely controlling himself, as well.

"No other clues, then?"

"No, TC."

"Never mind." TC's tone carried a mental shrug. "I'll just keep looking around here and maybe I'll strike it lucky."

"I will keep my fingers crossed, TC."

"Higgy, before you hang up …" TC let the sentence linger, unsure for a moment.

"Yes, TC?" Higgins prompted.

"Magnum said to tell you … give your copies of the evidence to Katsumoto. The copies on your phone."

"How does he know that I have copies there?" She sounded peeved for a moment, then worried. "TC, does him saying that mean what I think it means?"

"It's just a backup plan, Higgy, that's all."

"It had better be." Higgins hung up, leaving TC with a slightly confused smile on his face. She tried so hard to hide it, but clearly Higgins cared a lot more than she was willing to admit.

TC slipped his phone back into the pocket of his jeans, and went back to surveying the street around him.

Five minutes later, he reached the corner. He looked to his right and saw nothing but beachfront and wide-open spaces, sidewalks busy now with tourists heading for the beach and locals running small businesses. It wasn't likely that anything had happened to Rick there, just because someone would have seen something. The area was always busy.

He looked down the alley at the side of The Waves, seeing the odd person moving in and out of the office block. Mostly maintenance and delivery people, as far as he could tell. He was about to turn away when a door swung shut halfway along the building. For some reason, TC couldn't drag his eyes from the door. When it finally closed, he almost had to pinch himself to confirm what he thought he could see.

Rick.

The figure moved slowly away from TC, heading for the other end of the block. TC broke into a run, dodging people as easily as he had once raced his chopper through enemy fire. Less than a minute later, he slowed to a stop behind the figure and spoke softly.

"Rick?"

The man halted, then slowly turned to face him. TC felt the rage build inside him at the sight of the blood, dried and fresh, on his friend's face, along with the black eye and swollen eyelid that kept Rick's right eye half-shut. Albert Kunze had better hope that TC never spent any time alone in a room with him. There was nothing TC would like more, right now, than to inflict matching damage on Rick's captor. At the very least; preferably more damage. He knew Magnum would agree.

Thomas. Something suddenly clicked into place for TC. Magnum had told him, when he called earlier, that Rick's captor had sent a message. He'd thought that the tension in Magnum's voice had been because Rick was being held, but now he knew that the captor must have sent a photo, as well. Nothing else would explain that tone in Magnum's voice.

And Magnum hadn't told him, to spare him the pain and the worry. Next time – God forbid there was a next time – he was asking to see the message for himself. Thomas was far too willing to carry all the burdens alone. And TC wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

"TC? How did you get here?" Rick sounded about as stunned as TC felt.

"Thomas and I came looking for you, brother. Obviously." TC reached out and gently pulled Rick into a bear hug. The tension faded out of his shoulders as he held Rick tight, feeling him take every breath. Then he held Rick away from him and gave him a thorough looking over.

"Where else are you hurt?"

"I'm okay, TC."

"Orville." The word was a warning.

"Theodore." Rick matched the tone. "The idiot who had me in that basement wants something. It has to be related to Icepick or to Thomas, but I'm guessing it's Thomas."

"Yeah." TC agreed, then quickly filled Rick in on what had happened since the previous afternoon. By the time he had finished talking, Rick was already starting to move back to the main street that TC had come from. In spite of the fact that he looked as though a light breeze would send him to the ground.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To help Thomas." Rick's words were firm, but the wobble in his steps undercut his determination somewhat. "You said he's silenced his phone, so we can't call him. Which means we need to go find him."

"Orville, you need a doctor." TC tried to lay down the law.

"Don't 'Orville' me, Theodore." Rick shook his head, then moaned at how the movement intensified the ache. "That guy is planning to kill Thomas, whether he gets what he wants or not. I will not let that happen. Not when I can stop him."

TC read the determination in Rick's eyes and gave in, nodding once. He knew Rick was right about Kunze's intentions and welcomed the chance to thwart his plans. He turned to head back the way he'd come, eyes on the construction site entrance, supporting Rick with a steady hand on his back as they went. He made his feelings clear.

"You don't have to do it alone, Rick. Never alone. We will stop him. Together."

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Higgins slid her car into a parking space that most people would have thought twice about using, but she had no concerns about her ability to manage the feat. She looked around her and quickly spotted the plain black car that Katsumoto always used, parked on the beach side of the road. After a closer look at the sidewalk near the car, she spotted the detective standing near a small shave ice stand, somehow blending easily into the background. In spite of wearing neatly-pressed trousers, a button-up shirt and a jacket. Blending in was a very useful talent, especially in a man so dangerous when he chose to be.

She quickly crossed the street and covered the remaining distance to stand next to the detective.

"Higgins." A nod accompanied her name, an old-fashioned acknowledgement of her presence.

"Detective Katsumoto." Juliet nodded back.

"Any news?"

"Rick's phone went live again, a few minutes ago. But the closest I can manage to track it, is to somewhere around here."

"Have you tried calling it?"

"No. I was concerned that perhaps Rick is still being held and managed to activate his phone without his captor being aware of it."

"Captor? One person? You sound awfully sure." Katsumoto turned a sharp look on her, obviously realising that he'd not been made aware of a pertinent fact.

"Well, yes." Higgins couldn't quite hide the fact that she had more information than she'd shared with the detective. For a moment, she understood why Magnum didn't ever share everything he knew. It did make things easier. But in this case, she could see Katsumoto's view of things as well.

"We found enough information to suggest that Albert Kunze, sales manager at a company named MedLog, has been leaking company secrets to competitors. Over a fairly long period of time, and for a substantial sum of money." Higgins laid out the facts without emotion.

"And you didn't feel the need to share this information with me?" Katsumoto gave Higgins the same long-suffering look he frequently directed at Magnum.

"We had a different priority." Higgins shot the detective a glare, then grinned and held up her phone. "I have copies of everything we found, right here. And I will send them to you as soon as we have recovered Rick. As we were planning to do, all along."

She felt no need to tell the detective that it was Magnum's plan she was following. His backup plan, covering eventualities that she would much prefer not to consider in any sort of detail.

Katsumoto nodded agreement and looked around.

"So, what are we waiting for?"

Higgins looked around and wondered the same thing. She considered her options, then decided to call TC. As if thinking the man's name had conjured him, her phone chimed with a message notification. She tapped on the screen and felt something, previously wound unbearably tight inside her, loosen completely when she read the message.

"TC has found Rick." She waited for a moment, expecting something more. But no further messages appeared, so she quickly typed out one of her own and sent it back to TC.

"Where? How is he?" Katsumoto prodded at her for more information.

"I have no idea." Higgins shook her head. "You know what I know."

"Shoe's on the other foot." Katsumoto's mutter was just loud enough for Higgins to hear him, and she couldn't help but laugh before she heard Katsumoto's next comment.

"Annoying, isn't it?"

Seconds later, the phone chimed again, and Higgins focused back on the small screen. She scrolled down the message, then shook her head.

"Damn the man. Damn them all."

"Details, Higgins." Katsumoto cut through her words.

"Magnum has gone to meet Albert Kunze. Alone. Tenth floor of that construction site over there." Higgins pointed at the block across the road from The Waves. Katsumoto started in that direction and she kept pace with him, still reading the message. "TC and Rick are going in after him."

"Tell them to stay out of that building." Katsumoto snapped the words out. "Leave this to the police."

"I would, except …" Juliet's voice trailed off, and Katsumoto stopped to shoot a searching glance at her.

"Except what?"

"They sent the message after they entered the building."

Katsumoto swore, then, much more colourfully than Higgins would have believed was possible for the restrained man she'd come to know. Then he made sure his badge was visible and drew his gun, before striding purposefully onto the construction site.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

From the moment he'd stepped into the construction site, Magnum had felt the weight of eyes on him. It didn't matter that there was nothing to be seen, or that this side of the site seemed deserted. Survival instincts honed due to permanently dangerous conditions overseas had his senses on high alert, waiting for a sound or a movement to highlight the location of the danger.

He pulled out his gun as he slowly walked to the flimsy elevator fastened to the scaffolding at the side of the building. The building stairwell was right alongside the elevator, and Magnum considered using it before taking a step towards the elevator. Albert hadn't instructed him not to use the elevator, so he figured it was fine to avoid the ten flights of stairs. He stepped inside and eased the door shut as quietly as he could, wincing at the squeal the hinges let out. Still, it would make more noise as it rose to the tenth floor, and it wasn't as though Albert didn't know he was coming.

There was no shelter inside the elevator stall, but Magnum shifted to stand behind the control panel, hoping it would provide a little cover if he needed it. The metal creaked and groaned as it moved, passing floors slowly until finally reaching the tenth floor. Magnum eased the door open, another piercing squeal coming from the abused hinges.

The floor seemed empty, and he stepped out slowly, gun at the ready. He circled to the left around the open concrete floor, stepping past coils of wire and tubing, bundles of construction materials and small piles of debris. He saw no signs of any other presence on the floor, not even footsteps in the ever-present concrete dust. He'd been around most of the floor, finding himself almost back at the elevator when he heard the ringing. He tipped his head to the side, concentrating on locating the sound, then stepped behind the nearest support pillar to the elevator. The currently-unenclosed stairwell was also behind the pillar. So he was basically right back where he had started.

A burner phone lay on the floor, ringing.

He picked it up and answered the call.

"Albert, I assume."

"Correct." The voice was cold and business-like. "Use the stairs to come up one more floor."

"That wasn't the deal." Magnum wanted to argue, but knew he had no leverage and no way to win this fight. At the moment, Albert held every single card.

"The deal has changed."

Magnum stood for a moment, but could see no way to change how things were going to play out. The only option he could see was to conceal his gun again and hope that he could get close enough to Albert to use it.

"I don't think so." The voice on the phone spoke as Magnum started to move his hand. "You will leave the gun behind."

Magnum spun around, searching for cameras, but saw nothing. He'd been right that someone had been watching him. He almost had to admire Kunze; he was good at spotting surveillance cameras, but this time he'd seen nothing. The voice on the phone laughed at him.

"You won't find what you're looking for. Just do as I say."

Magnum stepped away from the pillar and laid his gun on the floor, squarely in front of the lift door. If he didn't come back from this meeting, a loaded gun would get the attention of the police department when TC told them where to start looking.

Then he headed to the right of the elevator and started up the flight of stairs.

He clung to the side of the stairs as he reached the eleventh floor, hoping not to be too obvious a target. But as soon as he reached the eleventh floor, he realised that Albert was on the far side of the floor. Waiting. Armed. Left-handed, which was unusual.

He walked slowly across the floor, delaying in the hope of finding something, anything, he could use to his advantage. His eyes swept left and right, but found this floor just as empty of anything useful as the floor below. No sign of Rick, either. That wasn't good.

"Welcome." Albert gestured with the gun, motioning Magnum closer.

"Where is my friend?"

"Where is the evidence?"

Magnum stood for a moment, realising that this was an impasse he could only break by giving in. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the flash drive.

"Here." He waved it in the air. "Your turn."

"When I've left the building, I'll send you a location."

Albert came closer, then, reaching out to take the flash drive from Magnum's fingers.

"I don't think so." Magnum spun sharply to his right and threw the drive with all his strength. It flew towards the open side of the building, arcing up and out, flying out into the mid-morning sunlight.

Albert grabbed for the drive with his free hand, turning the gun away from Magnum for a brief moment. Magnum took his chance. He swung his other hand directly towards Albert's left hand, grabbing on to the man's wrist and clenching down as hard as he could on the tendons and nerves there. Bitter experience had taught him that this was a good way to disarm someone quickly.

Albert cried out as his fingers lost their grip on the gun. Magnum hung on to Albert's wrist as he kicked out at the weapon, sending it sliding across the floor. He shoved Albert hard to opposite side, letting go of the man's wrist and moving towards the gun, hoping to make it to the weapon before Albert could recover.

He'd only covered half the distance before Albert caught up with him. It could have been a fair fight, but when had the universe ever believed in playing fair for Magnum? A tug on his shirt, then a bright sparking of pain lit a sharp line across the small of Magnum's back. He realised too late that Albert must have been carrying a knife as well. The pain slowed his movements and he knew he wouldn't beat the other man to the gun.

Magnum let himself fall to one knee and waited for Albert's momentum to carry him past Magnum. Then he reached out and grabbed Albert's nearest ankle and yanked it hard. The other man measured his length on the floor, his feet kicking out hard. One boot-encased foot caught Magnum a glancing blow to the head, leaving him stunned and dizzy for a moment. That was going to leave a mark, Magnum knew, but resolved to ignore the ache. Magnum forced himself upright, starting towards the gun again. But Albert's scrabbling hand reached it first.

Albert's attempt to grab the gun failed, his uneven scrabbling on the concrete floor only serving to send it over the edge of the floor, from where it spiralled downward to slam into the ground eleven floors down. Magnum watched the gun fall over the edge, then scrambled backwards across the floor, scraping both palms on the rough concrete, trying to get some space between himself and Albert. He needed just a moment to pull himself together before trying to subdue Kunze.

He'd just pulled himself back to his feet, shaking off the dizziness from the kick in the head, when he realised that he'd underestimated Albert's speed. Before he could counter the movement, Albert was behind him, slamming a punch into the slice across his back. Magnum sucked in a sharp breath and bit down hard on his lip. There was no way he'd give this common criminal the satisfaction of letting him know just how much that hurt.

He felt how his shirt was stuck to his back and wondered for a moment just how bad the wound was, then mentally shrugged it off. There was nothing he could do about it, and until Rick was safe, he planned to ignore it. But that lingering moment of pain had lost him any advantage in the fight.

Magnum felt Albert's arm close around his neck, the forearm pressing hard on his windpipe. He struggled to breathe for a moment, until Albert eased his grip fractionally. Then he felt the sharp point of a knife at the side of his neck.

"Now, we're going to get that evidence." Albert took a step towards the elevator, pulling a reluctant Magnum along with him.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**


	6. Chapter 6

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

TC and Rick had slipped into the construction site without being noticed, which wasn't really that hard to do. The trick was not to look as though you were doing something illegal, but rather just to seem casual enough that no-one really paid any attention to you. The few workers who were around had been heading to the far side of the site, and hadn't even questioned their presence. The fact that TC had managed to block their view of Rick's injuries had probably helped, as a good look at the blood would definitely have made things harder.

They'd seen the elevator stopped at the tenth floor, and taken a chance by calling it back down. There'd been no sign of Magnum or Albert, and they could only hope that was a good thing.

Rick leaned against the side of the elevator, eyes closed against the multiple overlapping images his brain kept supplying him with. TC kept one hand settled on Rick's shoulder, providing a solid point of reference. Without that anchor, Rick knew he wouldn't have been able to stay upright, much less consider going after Thomas.

TC took the opportunity to send a quick pair of messages to Higgins, telling her that he'd found Rick, and where they were going. At least, that way, someone would know where to start looking for them all – if things went badly.

When the elevator reached the tenth floor, TC opened the door and looked around before stepping out. Rick followed, slower and less steady, but just as quiet.

"No sign of anyone." TC whispered, then looked down. "Oh, hell."

Rick followed TC's gaze and saw the gun lying on the floor.

"Oh, hell." Rick echoed TC, then leaned down, listing heavily to one side while he did so, to pick up the weapon. "It's his."

Rick automatically checked the weapon over, made sure it was ready to fire, safety on, and slipped it into the back of his jeans. Thankfully, he could do that by touch alone, as he wasn't sure that he could see the gun clearly. At least he was armed, now. To be honest, he didn't want to have to use the gun, not with his eyesight less than clear. But any weapon was better than none.

TC looked at him as he checked the gun, but said nothing. He looked around the floor, and found a small pile of lumber against the one wall. He walked over and moved a few pieces around, before picking up a solid-looking piece of wood, roughly the size of a baseball bat. He kept that in one hand and used the other to support Rick.

"Up or down?" TC asked the logical question.

Rick tipped his head to the side and concentrated on every sound he could hear. A quiet thud and muffled scuffling sounds gave him an answer.

"Up."

The two men headed for the same stairs Magnum had used fifteen minutes earlier. They treated the climb as a military operation and came in silent and sure. Their sudden appearance was enough to startle Albert, who froze – ten feet from the elevator, using Magnum as a shield.

"Hi, guys." Magnum was the first to speak. "Good to see you, Rick."

"You, too." Rick answered, squinting hard at the man behind Magnum. "Not sure I like your new friend very much."

"Funny you should say that," Magnum agreed, "because I'd just about come to the same conclusion."

"Spent some time with him last night." Rick commented. "Most unpleasant evening I've had in a while."

"I've just met him and I'm not a fan." TC interjected.

"Can't fault you for that." Magnum agreed. "What happened to your shirt, TC?"

TC looked down at himself, noticing the blood on his grey t-shirt for the first time. He was puzzled for a moment, then realised it had transferred to him when he'd hugged Rick.

"Not mine. Rick's." TC could see just how much that upset Thomas, as he shared the feeling just as intensely.

"Enough chit chat." Albert punctuated the phrase with a jab of the knifepoint into the side of Magnum's neck, just enough to draw a single drop of blood. "We're leaving, and you two are going to stand quietly over there and watch us go."

"We are?" TC sounded faintly amused, smiling coldly. Rick shared the smile, and the cold leached into his words.

"Who's going to make us?"

"He is." Albert laid the knifepoint against Magnum's neck again.

Magnum took a stand and refused to move, planting his feet firmly and becoming a dead weight. TC was gathering himself to charge when Albert suddenly pulled the knife from Magnum's neck and used the clenched fist holding the hilt to punch Magnum hard in the small of his back.

The pained gasp that wrenched from Magnum made TC pause. There was obviously something more to this than he could see. Clearly he and Rick needed to factor in some sort of injury to their friend.

"What did you do to him?" TC's question promised retribution on a massive scale.

"Nothing serious." Magnum bit the words out, slightly breathless.

"I'll do a lot worse if you don't do as I say, and let us pass." Albert had the knife back at Magnum's neck and took another step forward, dragging his unwilling hostage with him.

"Rick!" Magnum cried out as Rick suddenly swayed, eyes closing and body slumping to the side. TC dropped his improvised baseball bat, and caught Rick before he fell. He wrapped one arm around his friend to hold him upright. Rick snaked his left arm around TC's waist and hung on.

"I'm okay." Reassurance filled the words, although the tone was less reassuring. "Really, Thomas, I'm just a bit dizzy."

"You need a doctor." Magnum couldn't let this go on any longer, when he had the means to stop it. Rick's health was more important than his. He calculated his options and took the only one that would get Rick to medical care quickly.

"Look, Albert, I'll do what you want. Okay?" He turned his head slightly to the left, trying to catch the gaze of the man behind him. "Okay? Just let them walk away right now. Like you said. Let them leave."

"Thomas, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Rick was livid.

"We've told you before about sacrificing yourself." TC had seldom felt this enraged, at a person or a situation. But Thomas had a way of pushing every button he'd told himself was totally under his own control.

"This isn't like that, guys." Magnum twitched his head slightly, the attempt to shake his head curtailed by the arm around his throat. "I'm not planning on dying, not today. But I will get Albert out of here and to wherever he wants to go. As long as he lets you both walk away first."

Albert stood silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Go. Both of you."

TC straightened up, supporting Rick carefully, and took one step towards the elevator. Rick swayed again, then rubbed his fingers hard across both eyes. He squinted hard, staring towards Magnum and Kunze.

"Man, I wish everything would just stay still."

"TC, get him to a doctor." Magnum's worry was clear.

TC watched the smile grow on Albert's face, self-satisfied and cold, pleased with the pain he'd inflicted on Rick. Kunze's attention wandered for one moment, the knife moving away from Magnum's throat in that second of relaxation. That second was all Rick needed. In one fluid motion, he reached behind his waist for Magnum's gun, thumbing the safety off as he pulled it round to the front, aimed and fired.

Magnum flinched as he felt the heat and wind of the passing bullet. Then he felt the pressure round his neck change as Albert fell to the side. The knife clattered to the ground and Albert's falling momentum dragged Magnum down to the ground as well, before the grip around his throat eased completely and then fell away. He stumbled back to his feet, and looked on the ground behind him. He couldn't help but smile at the surprised look on Albert's face – punctuated by a neat, round bullet hole in his forehead.

Then he turned his back on the man, resolved to ignore him until he'd taken care of Rick. He jogged the handful of steps to TC and Rick. TC was holding Rick upright again, while the shorter man struggled to put the safety back on the gun.

"Hey, Rick," Magnum reached out gently for the weapon, "how about you let me take care of this?"

Rick nodded slowly and let Magnum slide the gun from his grip. Moments later, the gun was safely hitched into the front waistband of Magnum's jeans. The way his shirt was plastered to his back told Magnum that trying to put the gun there would be a mistake. Magnum moved around to stand on the opposite side of Rick from TC.

"You doing okay, brother?" TC's gentle rumble was soothing.

"Sure." Rick sounded drunk, and his friends shared a smile.

"Damn, that headache's going to be a killer tomorrow." TC muttered quietly.

"He can sleep it off at my place." Magnum made it a statement of fact. He looked up at TC and carried on. "I need to have him there. You, too. This was a little too close."

He put an arm around Rick as well and helped TC lead him to the elevator.

"You can say that again." TC paused for a moment, then turned his attention to Magnum. His gaze lingered on the side of Magnum's face. "What did that guy do to you? Your face? Your back?"

"My face – he kicked me when we were fighting." Magnum shook his head. "My back – no idea. He had a knife; my shirt feels stuck to my skin. If I had to guess …"

"No guesses, please." TC rolled his eyes. "I'm making sure you both see a medic."

"I'm fine." Magnum's annoyed response blended with Rick's slightly-slurred one. TC just laughed, relief lending the sound a slight edge.

"Of course you are, both of you." The tall man got the three of them into the elevator, and sent it on its way to the ground floor. "And that's why we're calling a medic."

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

As the lift creaked to a halt on the ground floor, Magnum forced himself upright again. He was tired now, his back aching with a sharp and stabbing pain. He and TC got a good grip on Rick, who was now mumbling about dancing lights, and then Magnum pushed the door open.

The hinges squeaked, but the door swung open much quicker than he'd expected. The reason turned out to be Higgins, who'd pulled hard on the door at the same moment he'd pushed it. Behind her stood Katsumoto, and two uniformed officers. Katsumoto looked annoyed, but that expression was so often on his face that Magnum paid it no attention at all.

"Hey, Higgy." Rick looked at Higgins, then at another spot slightly to her left, and smiled. "Pretty lights in your hair."

"Well … I'm not … thank you, Rick." Magnum saw the moment when Higgins realised that Rick wasn't tracking too clearly and was thankful she'd decided to just agree with whatever strangeness Rick came up with. Knowing Rick, that could sometimes get very weird, indeed.

"Higgins." Magnum and TC spoke together, their voices blending into something unique. Magnum continued, with a nod to the detective, "Katsumoto."

"This is you keeping me in the loop, Magnum?" Katsumoto's anger was clear, but the note of concern underneath that kept Magnum civil. He could understand how the detective could be upset, but set against his own concern for Rick, Katsumoto's anger barely registered.

"Things kind of happened in a hurry." Magnum shrugged one shoulder, and looked at Rick. "Getting this sorted out was more important."

Katsumoto stared right back at Magnum, the need to say something more very clear in his eyes. But then he gave the three men a hard look, backed down and turned his attention to Rick.

"I've got EMTs on the way. None of you are leaving until they've had a good look at Rick." Katsumoto allowed a hint of a smile to surface. "Am I right in assuming that we don't actually need the EMTs to collect evidence against the kidnapper?"

TC just laughed, while Magnum shook his head slowly.

"I suppose I need to call the coroner, then?"

"That would probably be a good idea." Magnum agreed. He shared a glance with Higgins then, just in time to see that the broad grin on her face matched his own.

TC shifted slightly, drawing Magnum's attention. The tall man nodded towards a nearby pile of lumber and the two men walked Rick over to the makeshift seat and settled him down. Rick didn't say anything more, always a sign that something wasn't right in his world.

"Magnum." Katsumoto's voice was clear and hard this time, giving no quarter. "You will not leave here, either, until the EMTs have looked you over."

"I'm fine." Magnum would admit to being tired, but that had never been enough to stop him in the past.

"The back of your shirt is covered in blood." Katsumoto was blunt. "So forgive me for not believing you."

"What the hell?" Higgins was there in a moment, shifting her focus from Rick to Magnum. She pulled on Magnum's arm to turn him around. The white shirt was shockingly red, and clinging wetly to his skin. She eased the shirt away from his back, lifting it up to see the damage.

"I agree with Katsumoto. You're not fine." She snapped the words out, a hint of a tremble making her worry clear.

"Worried about me, are you?" Magnum laughed at the immediate flash of temper in Higgins' eyes.

"Not particularly. But if you don't let the EMTs treat you now, you'll be collapsing on my doorstep at midnight with some sort of raging infection which you'll expect me to take care of for you." Higgins shot a stinging glare at him. "And some of us prefer to sleep through the night without saving you from yourself."

TC's laughter cut off any reply Magnum could have made. When he'd managed to catch his breath, he shook his head and addressed his friend.

"She's got your number, brother." Then he took a good look at Magnum's shirt and his voice turned serious. "But the back of your shirt really looks bad, so let them check. Okay?"

"For me, okay?" Rick's voice chipped in, now, quiet but suddenly far more aware.

"Rick, how's your head?" Magnum's voice changed completely, the playful tone he'd shared with Higgins turning to something gentler and softer.

"I'm doing okay." Rick squinted hard, then admitted, "There were two of you for a while, up there, but right now, there's just one. And he's still stubborn as a mule."

"Nothing but personal attacks." Magnum shook his head in mock despair.

"I'm not letting go of you until you get your back looked at." Rick fastened his fist tightly into the material of Magnum's shirt, determination in every movement. "I'm not really up to doing it myself at the moment …"

Magnum wanted to fight them all, but Rick had flattened every one of his arguments with that one sentence.

"Okay, okay. I'll wait for them." He slumped down on the pile of lumber next to Rick, propping his shoulder against Rick's to keep his friend upright without being obvious about it. From the grins he could see on everyone's faces, he was doing a really bad job of it.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Ten minutes later, the ambulance pulled into the construction site, passing slowly through the chain-link gates that one of the uniformed officers had pulled open.

Two medics, carrying bags of equipment, headed straight for the small group settled on the pile of lumber, drawn by Katsumoto's authoritative wave.

The first EMT crouched in front of Rick.

"Hi, there. My name's Eric. And you are?"

"Rick." The mutter was quiet and reluctant.

"Okay, Rick. I'm just going to check you over. Tell me if anything I do hurts, okay?"

Eric reached out and gently tipped Rick's head to the side to look at the blood on the side of his face. Careful fingers felt around the two cuts at the edge of Rick's hairline, then carried on to check the rest of that side of Rick's head.

A small penlight to check his pupils was next, and that got a response from Rick.

"Go away." One hand came up to swat the offending object, and Magnum grabbed Rick's arm to stop him hitting the poor man, who was only trying to do his job.

"Let him do his job, Rick."

"I'm tired. I want to sleep. And it's too bright." Rick's mutter was quiet, but definite.

"No sleeping just yet, okay?" Eric moved on to checking blood pressure and pulse, followed by a string of questions.

"How long ago did this happen?"

"Not sure. Last night, sometime." Rick shrugged.

"Did you pass out?"

"Yeah. And before you ask, no, I don't know for how long." Rick's answer had the long-suffering tone of someone trying to move on to more interesting topics.

"Okay, then." Eric flicked a glance at Magnum, who shrugged slightly and grinned.

"Any nausea? Double vision?"

"Maybe." Rick hedged, only to have TC speak up.

"Orville." The word was a warning. "He said he wanted everything to just hold still earlier. And that he was seeing two of Thomas." TC directed that comment to Eric.

"That's important, Rick." Eric shook his head. "By the way, how did this actually happen?"

"This?" Rick gestured vaguely at his head. "I disagreed with someone about whether or not to do something. He hit me with his gun. Twice."

Eric's eyes widened slightly at the nonchalant tone, then he asked another question.

"And you didn't try to move away?"

"Bit hard to do when you're tied to a chair." Rick sounded almost bored with the whole discussion now. Magnum knew how he felt. Compared to the things they'd all survived, this was barely enough to make an impression.

"And just how did you end up tied to a chair?" Eric's question was beyond medical concern now, and Magnum couldn't hide the smile. Rick always could tell a good story, and it seemed Eric wasn't immune to Rick pulling him in. Not that he minded, this time, because telling Eric what happened meant that he and TC didn't have to pry the details out of Rick later. Rick was always reluctant to talk about himself, especially when he'd just done something outstanding or memorable.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Rick blinked owlishly at the men around him, then rested against Magnum's shoulder while he thought.

"I remember being in the elevator, and some idiot was crowding my space. That idiot." The tone made it clear that Rick meant Albert Kunze.

"Then …" Rick's fingers brushed over the side of his neck. "Then everything gets kind of fuzzy, and the next thing I know, I'm tied to a chair."

Eric took a closer look at the spot on Rick's neck.

"You seem to have a small, red mark right there." He laid a gentle finger on the spot. "I'm thinking you were drugged."

Magnum looked up at TC and saw his anger reflected in the taller man's face. It was a good thing Albert was already dead.

"Which means that you will be spending the night at the hospital." Eric held Rick's attention as he made the comment.

"No way. Come on, I'm fine." Rick started arguing at once. "I'm just a bit tired, and thirsty."

He turned a beseeching look on Magnum and TC, only to find them nodding at Eric's suggestion.

"You know you have to, Rick." Magnum's words were soft, concerned. "We don't know what he used on you. And you know you've got a concussion."

"Don't care." Rick muttered. "Just want to go home. You two can watch the concussion."

"We know." TC answered. "But not tonight. First thing tomorrow, we'll take you home. Okay?"

Rick sighed and looked at both his friends, knowing that there was no way to talk himself out of this.

"I still don't want to."

"But you will. For us." TC smiled then, and settled himself on Rick's other side, propping Rick up so that he could take his weight off Magnum. "Now, lean on me for a bit while Eric takes a look at Thomas."

Eric turned to look at Magnum then, eyes appraising. He reached out to tip Magnum's head slightly to get a better look at the bruise on his face.

"Same question for you, Thomas. How did this happen?"

"Someone kicked me when I was down." Magnum grinned, unconcerned. "But really, it was more of a glancing blow than a direct hit. No double vision, no nausea, just a minor ache."

"I'll be the judge of that, thank you." Eric's smile took the sting from the words, as he pulled out the penlight and checked Magnum's pupils as well.

The rest of the exam passed quickly, with Eric giving Magnum's palms a quick look and suggesting that simple disinfectant would be enough to sort out the scrapes. When Magnum shrugged, Eric promptly pulled out his own disinfectant and set about cleaning all the scrapes. Magnum flinched a few times, but made no sound at all. That earned him a questioning look from the EMT, but Magnum pretended not to see it.

"Now, your back." TC aimed the comment at Magnum, but the stern look at Eric.

"Your back?" Eric stared at Magnum, waiting for an explanation.

"Yeah." Magnum sighed the word out, trying not to feel the stinging ache across his back. He'd managed to ignore the pain until now, more concerned with how Rick was doing than anything else. But now, the ache was growing again, and he shifted slowly away from Rick and turned enough that Eric could see his back.

Eric tugged at the shirt, then asked Magnum to take it off. Magnum complied, finally getting a good look at the slash across the back of the shirt, as well as the patch of red soaking the material. Privately, he had to admit that it didn't look that good. But there was no way he would admit that in front of his friends.

Sure and steady fingers felt the length of the slice on his back, the sting of disinfectant re-igniting the pain. Magnum couldn't suppress the sudden shiver that shook him.

"Sorry." Eric apologised.

"Not you. Just me." Magnum answered.

"Well," Eric dug into his bag of supplies as he spoke, "this isn't as bad as it probably feels. Your shirt must have protected you a little. The worst sections are each end of this, and they could probably each use a stitch or two. The centre of the slice should be okay with butterfly strips. I think it should heal up just fine, as long as you make sure you keep it clean and dry."

TC and Rick both nodded and Magnum noted that Higgins was listening as well. There was no way to pretend he hadn't heard all of that.

"Okay. I can do that."

"Let's get you both to the hospital, then." Eric started to pack up his things.

"Can't you stitch it here?" Magnum had the words out before he gave it a second's thought.

"I would prefer not to." Eric shook his head, amused at the attempt. "I want a doctor to make sure we haven't missed anything else."

Magnum pulled himself upright, mouth open to argue.

"Don't say it." TC warned, raising one finger to emphasise his words. "If you start saying you don't want to go, Orville here will join the chorus."

Magnum looked at Rick for a long moment, then capitulated. Anything for Rick.

"Okay, TC. You win."

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Four hours later, Magnum sighed heavily as he eased himself out of the chair next to Katsumoto's desk at the precinct. He was beyond tired now, closing in on exhausted, but he still had things he needed to do.

He'd headed to the precinct as soon as he'd managed to get away from the hospital. Luckily, he'd taken to keeping a spare shirt in the Ferrari, so he didn't look as though he'd just been poked, prodded and stitched. By a junior doctor, who might have had a degree in medicine, but lacked all people skills. And with very heavy hands – the stitches had hurt more than being sliced open. Magnum was also fairly sure that Doctor Mason had a qualification in sarcasm and sadism as well. At least the nurse who'd applied the dressing to the knife wound had been a pleasant person.

He'd spent the last hour with Katsumoto, explaining the whole case to the detective, from being hired by Jason Calvert, to meeting Katsumoto at the construction site that morning. For all that he'd been on the case less than two days, the amount of paperwork it had caused was substantial.

Thankfully, Katsumoto already had copies of all the evidence Magnum had found, as Higgins had emailed everything to him while they were all still standing at the construction site. The flash drive hadn't survived the fall from the building. Higgins had spotted it, eventually, shattered into three pieces. She had duly collected the pieces and handed them to Katsumoto as evidence as well.

"Take care, Magnum." Katsumoto nodded to Magnum, then went on. "And tell Rick I hope he feels better soon."

"I will." Magnum confirmed, then lowered his voice so the detective's colleagues couldn't overhear. "Thanks for everything, Gordon."

"You're welcome, Thomas." The reply was equally soft.

Magnum turned to leave then, and saw Jason Calvert heading into the room. The man saw him and raised a hand to catch Magnum's attention.

"Mr Magnum, I'm glad you're still here. Your associate dropped off the files for you. Lovely woman, but just a little scary." Calvert sobered for a second, then smiled.

"I'm here to ask a …" he checked his phone, then carried on, "a Detective Katsumoto, to deal with the legal side of what you found. Your associate suggested he was the best person to speak to."

Katsumoto just closed his eyes and sighed, while Magnum laughed.

"Definitely. He's right here." Magnum indicated the detective. "I'm sorry I couldn't bring the files around myself."

"Please don't apologise. She explained everything this morning." Calvert shook his head. "I had no idea that Albert was capable of doing what he did – the hacking, the stealing, the physical violence. Especially the violence."

"People can hide their true nature very well." Magnum thought of Hannah for a second, then dragged his attention back to the man in front of him. "Try not to let it make you second-guess everyone else."

"I'll try. And on that note, I wanted to tell you that I am fully aware of Lyle's background." Calvert added no further details.

"I'm glad to hear it."

"But now that this, Albert and what he did, is all over the company, along with how you and your friends dealt with everything …" Calvert's voice trailed off.

"Is there something else you need help with?"

"Lyle is free to move on in three months."

"I know." Magnum nodded. "Is that a problem?"

"Not for me." Calvert shook his head. "But you seemed to have inspired him."

"Come again?" Magnum wondered if it was just the result of the day he'd just had, but he had no idea where this was heading.

"He says that you and your friends did what was right, regardless of what Albert threatened you with."

"Okay, sure." Magnum waited, still unsure where this was going.

"He would like to make use of his – skills – to do something similar. I wondered if you could perhaps point him in the right direction? Whether you knew anyone who could help him do that?" Calvert looked uncertain, but hopeful.

Magnum smiled at that, pleased that the answer would be so much easier to provide than Calvert could have anticipated. At least, from his side. He wasn't sure what Katsumoto would think of it.

"Start right here." Magnum pointed at Katsumoto. "Lyle doesn't actually have a record, does he?"

"No. But are you suggesting …"

"I am." Magnum nodded. "The police department has people who focus on cyber crime, and computer skills like his would be very useful here. I'm sure the detective could give you some idea of where Lyle could start."

Katsumoto just shook his head, faint amusement in his eyes, while Magnum waved Calvert to the chair he'd just vacated and headed out of the precinct.

Outside the precinct, Magnum stood on the sidewalk for a long moment, soaking up the last rays of sunshine. He let himself bask in the knowledge that everyone in his world was safe and happy. For this moment, at least, he would take that without complaint. Let the universe do whatever it wanted to, tomorrow. Today was his. And today, things were good.

Moments later, he slid into the Ferrari, settling gently into the seat. Still, he couldn't help but wince at the pressure of the seat against his back He fired up the engine, listened to it growl for a long moment, then dropped it into gear. He pulled into the next gap in traffic and headed to the hospital.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**


	7. Chapter 7

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Magnum parked the Ferrari in a quiet corner of the hospital parking lot, and stood for a moment in the relative calm of the early evening light before turning towards the hospital entrance. TC had sent him the details of Rick's room while he was still at the precinct, so he bypassed the reception desk and headed upstairs to find his friends. The corridors were busier than he'd expected to find them at this time of the evening, and he was glad he didn't have to ask for directions. Although what that said about his life over the last few months, was something he didn't want to consider too carefully.

He fully expected to find Rick trying to talk his way out of the bed, the room and the hospital. It was what they all did, ever since their escape and the time they'd had to spend in various hospitals then. Rick was usually the most successful of them all at getting out of hospitals, with his talent for spinning stories. But this time, his friend was going to spend the night, if he had to handcuff him to the bed to make sure of it.

As he rounded the corner of the nurse's station on the floor, Magnum stopped dead. He recognised the doctor, but wasn't sure if that was a good thing, under the circumstances. Then he smiled, a little uncertainly, and held out a hand as he greeted the doctor coming out of Rick's room.

"Dr Milford." The doctor turned with a smile, shaking the outstretched hand.

"Mr Magnum."

"Is something wrong?" The question was out before Magnum could stop it.

"Not at all. Why …" Milford's voice faded away as he took in the worry Magnum knew had to be written on his face.

"Really, no. Everything is fine."

"But you're a specialist. A surgeon." Magnum wanted confirmation that everything was fine.

"Yes." The doctor smiled. "But I'm also just a doctor, and I happened to be here when they brought you and your friend in earlier today."

"So?"

"I remember what you were like, when you were my patient not so long ago." Milford gave him a considering look. "And I had a feeling that your friend would be much the same. He is, by the way. So I offered to take his case. I've heard just about every excuse and story there is for not spending a night in a hospital, over the years I've worked here. There's no way he can talk his way out of staying the night."

"That's actually a relief." Magnum relaxed then, and smiled broadly. "He's not that keen on looking after himself."

"And you say that with a straight face." Milford laughed. "Takes one to know one, I'd say. I've already made a note that you and your other friend can spend the night, if you need to."

"Thanks for that." Magnum was grateful.

"And I'm fairly sure that your friend will be just fine to leave in the morning. There's no sign that there's any damage, other than what you can see. I'll check on him again in the morning, but I don't expect any problems."

"And the drugs?"

"You do know I'm not actually supposed to tell you anything?" Milford sounded stern, but the flicker of humour in his eyes told a different story.

"Yeah. But I'll just go and read his file if you don't." Magnum ducked his head to hide his smile.

"He said you'd do that. And he also said to tell you anything you asked, so – the drug was just a standard sedative. No long-term problems, and no side effects."

"That's … really good to know." The last of the worry eased from Magnum's muscles at the good news.

Milford nodded and Magnum suddenly found it hard to meet the doctor's gaze. Those gentle, caring eyes seemed to see far too much and far too clearly. The man was very perceptive, and Magnum got the impression that Milford knew far more about them all than he was letting on.

"And may I suggest that you all try to get some sleep?" Although he couched it as a question, Magnum knew Milford was actually giving an order. He treated it as such.

"We will, doc. Even if it is in shifts." He took a step towards Rick's room, then turned back and offered the doctor a genuine, honest smile.

"Thank you. For everything."

Milford walked back to the nurses' desk, engrossed in another patient chart.

Magnum was about to push the door to Rick's room open when his phone rang. He was going to let the call roll to voicemail, but changed his mind when he saw the caller ID.

"Higgins."

"Magnum." Higgins paused a moment, then asked, "Where are you?"

"At the hospital." Magnum turned to place his back against the wall, watching everything happening outside Rick's room.

"Are you okay? Is there a problem with your back?" Concern filled the questions.

"I'm fine." Magnum chuckled. "TC and I are going to spend the night here. Keep Rick company."

"Which leads me to my next question. How is he doing?" Higgins was serious now.

"Doc Milford said he's doing fine." Magnum heard the quiet sigh of relief at the other end of the line. "Yeah, that's just how I felt."

Higgins said nothing for a moment, then laughed quietly at Magnum's perception.

"I'm glad to hear it. Very glad." Then her tone turned less serious. "Tell him that I expect to see him tomorrow, so that I can judge his improvement for myself."

"I'll pass the message on." Magnum laughed, then sighed as he leaned against the wall. He was willing to admit, now, that he was exhausted and looking forward to sitting down for a while.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Magnum hedged for a moment, then the relief of knowing Rick would be fine caused the flood of words to simply pour out.

"It's just … I could have lost him today. Like Nuzo. And I don't know if I could handle that. He just … amazes me, you know. Everything he did today: getting away, coming after me, taking that shot. Saving my life."

"Yes." Higgins drew the word out.

"He's the strongest person I know, Higgy. But he doesn't see it." That fact bothered Magnum. It always had, but nothing he said ever seemed to change Rick's opinion of himself.

"It's often hard to see the truth about oneself." Higgins agreed.

"Maybe." Magnum conceded. "But that shot. I wish you could have seen it, Juliet. It was something else. I could feel it go right past me, perfect aim. Even concussed. If he wasn't already a sniper legend, he would be now."

Magnum didn't even try to reign in his admiration for Rick and what he'd done. Or the pride he felt in being able to call Rick his friend. Part of his 'ohana.

"Then I will leave you to your evening with your 'ohana, Thomas." Higgins spoke quietly.

"Only part of it, Higgy." Magnum's answer was equally quiet. "I'll see the rest tomorrow, back home."

"Good night, Thomas." Juliet sounded almost choked-up for a moment, then took a breath. "Try to get some sleep."

"You too." Magnum paused for a second. "Thanks for all your help today. Good night, Juliet."

He ended the call and levered himself away from the support of the wall, turning to enter Rick's room.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Magnum eased the door open quietly, but met two wide-awake stares. He stepped inside with a smile, pleased that he didn't have to sneak in.

"Hey, guys." He shared a nod with TC, then focused a searching look on Rick.

His friend did look better without the blood down the side of his face. The massive bruise was lovely shades of black and purple, and looked painful. But aside from that, the slight confusion was gone from his eyes, along with the exhaustion that had been clear when Eric had checked him over earlier.

"You're looking better, Rick." Relief coloured the words, but the other two let it slide.

"I keep telling them I'm fine, but they just won't believe me." Rick was offended.

TC laughed and Rick sent him an aggrieved look. Magnum couldn't help but laugh as well, even when Rick shot him a glare that promised future retribution.

"Well, I just ran into your doctor." Magnum couldn't hide his happiness. "And he told me that he assumed that you were going to be just like me."

"I'm nothing like you." Rick objected.

"You both wanted out of here five minutes after arriving." TC was the amused voice of reason. "I wonder why he'd think you're a lot alike."

"Yeah, well." Rick muttered, ducking his head to hide his grin. "Aside from that."

"Face it, Rick, he's got your number. Just like he had mine." Magnum conceded. "So, let's just make the best of it and get out of here tomorrow."

Magnum walked around the bed and eased himself into the vacant chair next to TC. It took a few moments to find a spot that didn't aggravate his back, but then he relaxed as much as he could. He wouldn't sleep well in the hard chair, but given how exhausted he was, he knew he'd get some sleep anyway.

Looking up, he found Rick watching him intently.

"Thomas, I've … no, we've been thinking." Rick flicked a glance at TC, who tipped his head in the barest of nods. Magnum got the impression that there had already been a long discussion about whatever was coming next.

"We think you should go home. Sleep in a proper bed." Rick hurried the words out, as if trying to beat a deadline.

"No chance." Magnum snapped the words out, razor-sharp and angry. "I'm not going home and leaving you here."

"Look, I'm fine. This is just a precaution." Rick slid into the tone he used to convince people to believe his most outrageous stories. "You need to look after your back."

"And aren't I just in the perfect place for that?" Sarcasm wasn't something Magnum resorted to very often, but this was just too much. Did they really think that he'd leave them here and go home?

"You're damned stubborn, you know that?" TC's exasperation was clear.

"Look who's talking." Magnum shot back. "I'm staying, so just let it go."

"We had to try." Rick sighed. He and TC shared a glance, a shrug and a quick smile. A whole conversation in three moments.

"I know. And you had to know it wasn't going to work." Magnum's smile was back, momentary anger erased. The guys only ever had his best interests at heart, like he did theirs, so anger was a waste of time and energy.

Rick shrugged, then all three of them were laughing.

When they'd all settled down again, Magnum mentioned running into Doctor Milford in the corridor.

"He pretty much ordered us all to get some sleep."

"I would if I could." Rick was unimpressed. "But they're going to come in here and wake me up all the time anyway."

"I figured that." Magnum nodded. "I told him we'd sleep in shifts. He seemed okay with that."

"In that case," TC took charge of the situation. "No-one's whacked me in the head today, so I'll stay awake for now. You guys get some sleep, and we can swap shifts later." He nodded at Magnum, who nodded back.

Rick just shook his head, then laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. Moments later, his breathing slowed and he dropped off to sleep.

Magnum let his eyes close as well, allowing his mind to run back over the day and sort through the events. He'd done much the same thing when he'd spent the night watching over Higgins in the hospital. The guilt was there again, and he knew it would take a while to deal with it properly. Probably a long while.

This time, he was the direct cause of what had happened to Rick. His investigation had been the trigger that had made Albert Kunze do what he did. It had just been chance and opportunity that Albert had kidnapped Rick. If things had worked out differently, it could have been TC in this hospital bed. Or either - or both – of his friends could have been killed today.

Regardless, he was to blame. Again.

He sighed and shifted slightly in the chair.

"Stop it." TC's quiet rumble filled the room. "I can read your face like a book."

Magnum's eyes popped open and met TC's stern look.

"It's not your fault. Don't even try to argue with me, brother." TC's gaze was unblinking.

"My case caused this, TC. He wouldn't be here, if it weren't for me." Magnum kept his voice low. "It's like Hannah all over again."

"There's another side to that, you know." TC matched Magnum's volume, but his tone was thoughtful.

"Hannah is not your fault. Nothing that happened there, was ever your fault." TC shook his head. "We can't help who we love. But you are right about one thing. If it weren't for you, Rick wouldn't be here now."

That calm statement stunned Magnum. He couldn't find the breath to speak. They did blame him. It was his fault.

"Without you, we would all have died there." TC twitched a hand in an aborted movement, indicating a place far from where they sat now. "Me, Rick, Nuzo. We would never have made it back. You were the thing that held us together, and kept us going. So yeah," TC chuckled, "you're completely to blame for all of us being here."

"He's right." The quiet comment came from the bed, and Magnum looked over to find Rick watching them. Clearly, he'd been listening for a while. Yet more proof that Rick's hearing was too sharp to slip anything past him.

"You've got to start letting this go, Thomas. It's not always your fault." Rick managed a grin now. "This time is totally on that idiot who thought he could tie me up and leave me in a basement. Do I look like someone who's going to sit quietly and wait to be rescued?"

"No." TC and Magnum answered together, holding back sudden and unexpected laughter.

"Without the drugs, I don't think he'd ever have got you to the basement at all." Magnum mused. "You pack a hell of a punch for a little guy. He'd have come off second-best."

"Definitely." TC agreed. "Guys like him only ever win by fighting dirty. Especially against a guy like you, who doesn't know what the word 'quit' means."

Silence met that comment, and Magnum and TC both looked at Rick. Their friend was sitting speechless, a faint flush rising on his cheeks. They shared a look with each other, realising that hearing their honest opinion of him had somehow embarrassed Rick. A mutual decision to let the moment pass was made and Magnum decided to move the conversation on.

"Okay. I'll work on letting the guilt go, guys."

"Don't just work on it." Rick was clear.

"I agree. Don't work on it, just get it done this time." TC was even more blunt.

Magnum stared at them both, then dropped his eyes. It was just too hard to look at them for a moment, to see how much they cared and wanted him to move on. He wasn't sure that he could ever truly accept that the guilt wasn't his burden to bear, but for them, he was willing to try to get past it. Starting now.

"So, about tomorrow." Magnum changed the topic to something lighter. "Doc Milford says we can take you home in the morning."

"Not soon enough." Rick's comment drew a snicker from everyone.

"Like I said to TC earlier, you're both coming to my place." When Rick opened his mouth to argue the point, Magnum raised a finger to silence him. "This isn't guilt, Rick, just concern for a friend."

"We all need it." TC chimed in, nodding his agreement. Rick stared long and hard at both of them for a moment, then finally nodded.

"I'm going to have a chat with Higgins, see about having a barbecue. Maybe invite Katsumoto as well? Sound good?" Magnum tossed the idea out for discussion.

"Very." Rick smiled then, relaxing into the pillow again. "I'll leave you two to sort out the details. I'm just going to take a nap before they come and wake me up again."

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Midday at the estate was bright and sunny. Magnum worried for a moment that it was maybe too bright, until he spotted Rick settled in the shade of a tree, dark sunglasses covering his eyes. The massive bruise on the side of Rick's face had darkened more overnight, but the two cuts were healing well.

Magnum strolled across to his friend, who was watching TC man the grill and flip burgers like he'd been born doing it. Zeus and Apollo had just left Rick's side, and were now sitting at attention at the side of the grill, hoping that TC would drop a burger in their direction. The dogs barely glanced at Magnum, for a change. He'd like to think it was because they were growing to like him, just a little. But if he were honest, it was most likely because a burger from the grill would be tastier than a chunk of his leg.

"Hey, Rick. How're you doing?"

"Thomas. Good, buddy." Rick stayed where he was, relaxed in his chair. He raised the glasses enough to trade a telling look with Magnum before dropping them down again.

"Still too bright?"

"Just a little. Much better than this morning. At least there's only one of everyone today." Rick sounded unconcerned. "Not my first concussion. And definitely not my worst."

"Too true." Magnum's agreement was quick and easy.

"How's your back?" Rick turned the questioning around, tone suddenly much sharper and finely focused.

"Fine. I know you're glaring at me behind those glasses." Magnum laughed. "Honestly, it barely even hurts. Like you just said, not the worst I've ever had."

"I used to have such a normal life. Now I'm surrounded by people who rate their concussions and stab wounds. Where did I go wrong?" Katsumoto's voice was both amused and horrified, as he walked up behind Magnum. The detective looked more relaxed than usual, though Magnum admitted that it was probably because Katsumoto had left his jacket in the car. And dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, just as everyone else had today.

"Good to see you looking better, Rick."

"Thanks, Katsumoto." Rick nodded. "And thanks for yesterday, by the way. I never got a chance to thank you for helping out."

Katsumoto nodded once. He was about to say something more, when Higgins called everyone to the table.

"Later." He walked away, leaving Rick and Magnum to follow.

By the time everyone had eaten their fill, the mood around the table was mellow and relaxed. Magnum was soaking up the presence of his family, feeling immensely lucky to have them all around him, not much the worse for wear.

He missed Kumu's soothing presence at the table, but she'd gone to visit a friend for a few days. They'd all decided that it was better not to call and worry her, now that everything was over. She could hear the story of everything that had happened, when she got back to the estate.

Magnum was glad that she hadn't been faced with the tension and fear of the last two days, but he knew she'd have plenty to say when she heard the full story. Even getting Rick to tell the tale probably wouldn't make her any happier about being unaware of what had happened to her 'ohana.

He tuned back in to the story Rick was telling, trying to figure out how a simple tale about a group of students on spring break had turned into this complicated story about neon blue cocktails, cans of whipped cream, coconut shells and human pyramids. He'd have to get Rick to tell him this story again sometime. Maybe more than once. The look on TC's face suggested that he wasn't the only one confused.

When Rick finally wrapped it up, Katsumoto leaned back, bemused and amused.

"Seriously?"

"My hand on a Bible."

"Well, then." Katsumoto nodded once. Magnum had to give the detective his due – he was clearly way smarter than he let on, if he had followed and understood Rick's story. Maybe Katsumoto could explain it all to him sometime.

"While I have your hand on a Bible," Katsumoto wondered, "metaphorically speaking."

"Yeah?" Rick's question was careful now.

"I haven't got your statement yet." Katsumoto went on. "And this isn't an official question, either. I'm just curious how you and TC ended up in that building, and how you managed that shot."

"Okay." Rick nodded. "Sure, I can tell you that."

"Well, the first time I woke up in the basement, the idiot wanted me to tell my friend to back off. I refused, and he did this." Rick waved a hand at his face. "Then he came back again and kept wanting the same thing. I was less than helpful, shall we say?"

"I'll bet." Katsumoto couldn't help the mutter, surprising a laugh from everyone else.

"Then he sent Thomas that picture. Sorry about that, buddy." Rick glanced at Magnum, who shrugged and smiled.

"It's okay, Rick. As long as you're here now." Magnum's nonchalant tone belied the relief he knew was in his eyes, clear enough for Rick to see it easily.

"Then he left again. I know, now, that was when he went to meet Thomas. But he left the light on, so I could see. And I found a rough spot on the chair arm and managed to use it to wear through the rope, enough to snap it. Then I found a chisel and used it to break the lock on the door."

Rick glanced around and found everyone hanging on his words, which made him stumble to a halt.

"Go on, brother." TC encouraged him.

"The door opened into a corridor and I headed right, then found a door that led to the street, and that's when TC found me."

"I wanted him to go to the hospital, but he refused." TC added now, shaking his head. "Stubborn."

"TC told me where you'd gone," Rick nodded at Magnum, "and we decided to follow you. We got to the tenth floor about the same time you were getting yourself slashed in the back by the idiot. We found your gun there, and I took it with me."

"Then you came up a floor to find us." Magnum chipped in now.

"Yeah, and that idiot was threatening to stab you in the neck with that knife of his." Rick sighed heavily. "There was no way I was letting him do that. Not even to save myself and TC."

"Save yourselves?" Katsumoto questioned. "How so?"

"Yeah. He threatened us all, and Thomas said he go with him – if he let the two of us go." Rick sounded less than impressed.

Katsumoto and Higgins shared a look, then focused their attention on TC's next words.

"We'll be having a discussion about that later."

"Come on, TC, let it go." Magnum's tone carried a hint of pleading, but in vain.

"No way, brother." TC shook his head and Rick followed his lead. "We've had this talk before, and we're going to keep having it until you get the message."

"What he said." Rick pointed at TC and nodded.

Magnum sighed and shot a pleading look at Juliet, who seemed faintly amused at the whole exchange. She simply shook her head.

"You're on your own, Magnum." Juliet laughed, then her voice turned quiet and serious as she turned her attention back to Rick.

"How did you manage that shot?" She was genuinely curious.

"I was a sniper, Higgy. I can make any shot." Rick laughed.

"I'm sure you can. But you and TC both said you were seeing double at the time."

"Yeah, I was." Rick admitted. "I had to wait for Thomas to say something. His voice seemed to be closer to the Thomas on the right of the two, so I figured the idiot on the right-hand side had to be the real one, as well. So I shot him."

"You make it sound so simple." Higgins mused.

"It was. Anything for Thomas. Or TC. Maybe a few other people, too." Rick glanced around at the people around the table, then ducked his head at the admission. "You know, simple."

"On the subject of the idiot," Magnum pulled the attention from Rick, seeing how uncomfortable he was with being the centre of attention at the moment. "What happened with the software theft?"

"Thanks to the evidence Higgins gave me, we traced the payments to one person at each of Calvert's rival companies. We arrested both of them yesterday afternoon, and they're both happily laying all the blame on Kunze. But the evidence is clear, so they'll both be spending some time in jail." Katsumoto sounded pleased to have it all neatly wrapped up.

"But Kunze won't be in jail, which is a good thing." TC offered.

"You know, I am a police officer." Katsumoto said. "I can't be a witness to some sort of vigilante intention."

TC laughed at that, so hard that it took him almost a minute to catch his breath.

"You're wrong. I had no intention of doing anything." TC took another deep breath.

"But I did go see a friend of yours at Halawa," he tipped his head to Rick, "and he promised that anyone who hurt you would answer to him."

"Does this friend have a name?" Katsumoto asked.

"Yeah, but it's not important right now." TC stated.

"You thought it was his fault." Rick smiled at TC, amazed "And you went and took him on. In person."

"'Course I did." TC nodded. "You have to admit, he's been the cause of trouble before."

"True. But not this time."

"Yeah. Which reminds me, you should probably let him know that you're okay." TC shrugged then. "I would say to send him my apologies, but …"

"He wouldn't want them. He knows where you were coming from." Rick agreed. "I'll get a message to him later today."

Magnum watched Katsumoto look around the circle, and come to the conclusion that he would never know who the person at Halawa was. Not that the detective couldn't find out, but that would end any pretence of plausible deniability. Katsumoto looked right at him, then, raising an eyebrow in a silent question. Magnum simply shook his head.

Magnum knew Katsumoto understood that they were actually doing their best to protect him from the unintended consequences of being on speaking terms with an incarcerated felon. Being on a first-name basis with Icepick wouldn't be good for Katsumoto's long-term career prospects.

Katsumoto hesitated for a second, then nodded back, acknowledging Magnum's decision. Katsumoto rose to his feet.

"I have a desk full of paperwork calling my name. Most of it thanks to you three." Katsumoto sounded resigned, yet somehow not annoyed.

Magnum and TC rose as well. Higgins looked ready to join them, but Magnum waved her off.

"We'll walk Katsumoto out, Higgy. Just relax."

The three men set off towards the driveway, the sound of their voices fading into the afternoon sunlight.

**MPI-MPI-MPI**

Higgins waited until the three men were out of sight, then turned her attention back to Rick. It was hard to be sure with the sunglasses, but she had a feeling that he was looking right at her as well. She let him see her looking him over, then nodded.

"Katsumoto was right, Rick. You are looking much better." She paused for a moment, then went on. "I'm glad to see it."

"Thanks, Higgy." Rick reached up to lift the glasses for a moment, before dropping them back down. The brief view of his eyes told Higgins everything she really wanted to know. First, Rick really was feeling better. But second, his involuntary squint into the bright sunlight showed he had a long way to go yet.

"The headache is lingering." Higgins observed quietly.

"Yeah." Rick winced, then sighed. "It'll fade, in a day or two. Maybe sooner, if I can get some proper sleep tonight."

"You're having trouble?" Concern filled the question. Given what she'd learned about Magnum in the last few months, she felt her concern was more than justified.

"Not the way you mean." Rick answered. "I'm not like Thomas. But they kept waking me up last night, so I'd be surprised if I even managed three hours sleep in the whole night."

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem here." Higgins saw the sudden twitch and laughed. "I don't have to be psychic to know that you and TC will be here tonight. Maybe even tomorrow night as well."

"We don't mean to take advantage." Rick was quick to point out.

"It's not an imposition at all." Higgins refuted the words. "I'm insulted that you would think so little of me."

"Sorry, Higgy." Rick smiled then, knowing that she was only teasing.

"As you should be." Higgins sounded haughty, then let slip a giggle that surprised a laugh from Rick as well. "I intended to offer you a room at the main house if Magnum didn't get you to stay, for tonight at the very least."

"You did?" Stunned didn't even begin to cover Rick's tone.

"Of course. One doesn't leave friends to deal with adversity on their own. Very bad form." Higgins smiled. "Besides, I wanted you all where I can keep an eye on you until you're all healthy again. You don't – any of you – appear to have a very good track record of looking after yourselves."

Rick laughed then, a free and uninhibited sound that broadened the smile on Juliet's face.

"I would refer you to our escape from the Korengal. We did okay then."

"You did. Aside from everything you suffered there, and everything you've dealt with as a result of that." Higgins sobered abruptly.

"You may have a point." Rick smiled gently. "But still. We did okay."

"Indeed. And I now intend to make sure that you all do somewhat better than okay." The words were firm, but far from harsh. She didn't have many friends in Hawaii, and no family. Except for this one, built with the most unusual group of people she'd ever met. She would do what she could, and what she had to, to keep her little family whole.

Rick tipped his head in acknowledgement.

They sat for a few moments, staring out at the sea. Higgins wondered if there would ever be a good time to say what she felt needed to be said. But to leave it unsaid any longer would be just as bad.

"Thank you, by the way."

"For what?" Rick sounded puzzled.

"For including me in the group you mentioned earlier."

The red flush on the tops of Rick's ears made it clear he knew what she meant, but he played it dumb.

"I don't follow."

"The group you would do anything for."

"Oh, that." Now he sounded as though he wished the ground would swallow him whole. As if admitting out loud that he cared, was something to be ashamed of, something to keep hidden.

"It's an honour to be included."

When Rick didn't answer, Higgins decided to let him off the hook.

"Moving on, though. Your friends are very proud of you, and very impressed, you know."

"Come again?" Rick queried, puzzlement clear in his voice.

"I called Magnum last night, at the hospital. When he told me that he and TC would be spending the night with you. Then, and every time I've spoken to either of them since all this happened, they've been singing your praises. For getting away so quickly, for going after Thomas, for taking that shot. Especially that shot."

Higgins kept her voice matter-of-fact. She knew that Rick always saw himself as the weakest link in the little group of friends. She had no idea why, but his actions in the last two days had disproved that theory comprehensively. No matter what he might think.

"They'll stop soon. Sorry if they're talking your ear off." Rick murmured, clearly uncomfortable.

"Good heavens, no. I sincerely hope they don't stop talking about it." Higgins was appalled. "If they do, I just might start instead. What you did was amazing, Rick. It should be remembered and celebrated."

"You think?" He sounded unsure. "Really?"

"Definitely." Higgins smiled at him, then reached out to remove the sunglasses for a moment. She needed to make sure he heard her clearly, and understood just what she meant. And she could only be sure if she could see his eyes. Rick could spin a great tale, but now that she knew him, Higgins knew that the truth would be in his eyes. You just had to know to look for it.

"You may recall a conversation we shared on that beach, after Toni left."

"I do."

"I consider us friends." Rick nodded agreement and Higgins carried on. "And if you ever need to be reminded again of how strong you were, how strong you are, we will be spending another night on that beach."

Rick looked startled for a moment, then realised that she was serious. He nodded once, then took the sunglasses back and slid them back on. She let him do it, aware that he was hiding his emotions, trying to hang on to his control and composure. He took one deep breath, eased it out, then took another. He tilted his head to one side, almost seeming to be listening to something she couldn't hear. Then he grinned and spoke.

"You know, I'm going to tell everyone I spent a night on the beach with you."

Twin shocked gasps had Juliet's head whipping around, her searching gaze landing on two equally and identically stunned faces. That was when she realised that Thomas and TC had caught Rick's statement, just as they'd come back from seeing Katsumoto off. Rick, with his hearing, had known they were there. The look on their faces made Higgins wish she had a camera. But she directed her words to Rick, in spite of sharing his laughter.

"Context, Rick. Context."

**FIN**


End file.
